📢Uganda🇺🇬: the government wants all gambling-related payments to pass through a single state-controlled channel

📢Uganda🇺🇬: the government wants all gambling-related payments to pass through a single state-controlled channel

The measure is included in amendments to the 2025 Tax Code and would apply to all licensed casinos and betting operators, including online platforms. If approved, the proposed payment gateway would be directly integrated with the electronic payment systems of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).

🔣 The authorities’ main objective is to eliminate “blind spots” within the sector, reducing potential risks related to money laundering, terrorist financing, and illegal gambling operations, particularly in rural areas.

🔣 As an alternative still under discussion, operators could be required to process payments independently while transmitting transaction data in real time to a government monitoring node.

🔣 In either scenario, authorities intend to introduce strict penalties for operators that refuse to use the centralized gateway. Possible sanctions include double taxation on gambling activities, double withholding tax, or a fixed fine of 26,268 euros.

🔣 In addition to the mandatory use of a single payment channel, starting from July 1, 2026, the government also plans to introduce a 30% tax on gross gambling revenue and a 15% withholding tax on player winnings. Under these conditions, smaller operators and new market entrants may be forced to reassess their business strategies in Uganda.

🔣 For such operators, one alternative remains the development of crypto casinos, since the fiat gateway cannot directly monitor blockchain-based crypto transactions. The use of VPNs is also mentioned, although it requires more advanced user knowledge.

🔣 From a technical standpoint, concerns remain regarding the scalability and operational capacity of the proposed gateway infrastructure. During major sporting events or peak periods such as weekends, transaction volumes can increase by 10 to 20 times. Key challenges include API response time management, reconciliation of inconsistent transaction statuses between operators and the central gateway, and maintaining the stability of USSD and STK Push services, which may experience performance issues under heavy traffic.

🔣 Context: Uganda has a population of approximately 45.9 million people, a GDP per capita of around 724 USD, and the country’s gambling regulator is the National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (NLGRB).

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