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Botswana’s Parliament has approved Bill No. 15 of 2026, a Gambling (Amendment) Bill that reduces the legal gambling age from 21 to 18 while tightening penalties and oversight across the sector.
The legislation, read for the third time and passed on August 13, 2026, marks one of the most significant reforms to the country’s gambling market since the 2002 framework..
The Bill was first published in the Government Gazette in May by the Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Tiroeaone Ntsima, and followed a gambling policy review led by the ministry and Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) the previous month.
It amends the Gambling Authority Act (Cap. 19:03) to bring Botswana’s rules in line with the Financial Intelligence Act and international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Broader licence categories, tighter ownership checks, and more clarity
The new bill widens the scope of permits the Authority can issue. Section 33 now lists bingo, bookmaker, casino, gambling establishment, lottery, and racing licences, while also leaving room for new categories that may be introduced later.
There are also stricter requirements for those running gambling businesses. Directors and licensees must prove to the Authority that they are “fit and proper persons,” and companies are required to notify the regulator of any change to their registered name.
A new Section 44A makes it mandatory for anyone seeking to acquire a controlling or financial interest of 5% or more in a licensed operator to first secure approval from the Authority. Breaching this requirement carries a fine of up to P100,000 ($7,463).
The reforms also rewrite key terminology across the Act. References to “casino” are replaced with “gambling establishment,” while “casino inspector” becomes “authorised officer.”
New definitions have been added to support anti‑money laundering measures, including “beneficial owner,” “controlling interest,” “financial interest,” “financial offence,” and “fit and proper person.” Each of these terms ties directly into the Financial Intelligence Act framework, ensuring Botswana’s gambling laws align with international FATF standards.
Increased powers for the BGA along with higher fines
The new Bill strengthens the authority of the Botswana Gambling Authority (BGA), giving it wider discretion over who can be licensed and how existing licences are managed.
Under the reforms, the Authority can refuse to grant a licence to anyone convicted of a financial offence. It also gains broader grounds to suspend, revoke, or deny renewal of licences where false information has been supplied, licence conditions have been breached, or where directors and officers have been found guilty of offences involving dishonesty
“Clause 7 amends section 39 of the Act and similar provisions to provide for refusal to grant a licence where an applicant has been convicted of a financial offence,” the bill states.
Together with these expanded powers, the bill raises penalties across the board. Supplying gambling machines or devices to unlicensed persons now carries fines of up to P30,000($2.3k) for a first offence and P40,000 ($2.9k) for repeat violations.
The Bill also introduces a general penalty clause, setting fines of up to P500,000 ($37k) for offences without a specified sanction, and doubling that to P1 million ($74k) for repeat offences.
An industry in need of reform
The scale of illegal betting in Botswana explains why lawmakers pushed through the new Gambling Bill
A joint study by the Gambling Authority and the University of Botswana last November estimated that unlicensed gambling was worth around P500 million, nearly twice the size of the legal market. Out of an estimated 550,000 active bettors in the country, only about 220,000 were using licensed operators.
That imbalance led the Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship to begin a full policy review in April, with consultations across the country to modernize a framework that had barely changed since 2002, long before online betting became part of Botswana’s gambling market. The review was carried out with support from the Gambling Authority and BIDPA.
But even as the new policies were being debated, the problem continued to grow. This month, the Gambling Authority reported that more than P850 million had passed through illegal online platforms in H1 2026. Authority CEO Moruntshi Kemorwale warned that these platforms are increasingly reaching young people under 21, with weaker age checks than licensed operators in Botswana.
The new Bill is designed to close those gaps, introducing a reduced gambling age limit, stronger KYC requirements, beneficial ownership checks, and fit‑and‑proper tests to give regulators more power to track who is running and using gambling platforms.
For the Authority, reform is not just about fixing the market. Kemorwale has argued that regulated gambling could become a driver of economic growth, pointing to global examples like Las Vegas, Macau, and Sun City. Speaking at the Botswana Mining Conference last November, he urged policymakers to “think outside the box” about how casinos, betting houses, and gaming platforms could create jobs and support the country’s Vision 2036.
With the Bill now passed, that vision has its first concrete legislative step behind it.
