The government of Rwanda has outlined new policy to re-regulate the country’s gambling market. The proposed plans will see a new national gambling regulator oversee the industry and manage the process of relicensing existing operators. There will be plans to strengthen the market to attract new licensees.
The recent rapid growth of the industry has led to Rwanda proposing the new policy, which the government said highlights several regulatory shortcomings and social issues that require immediate action.
“Although it holds promise for economic growth, the absence of strong regulations has caused notable social problems, such as increased addiction rates, financial instability among low-income groups, and unregulated cash transactions that could enable money laundering,” the government said in its recently released gambling policy.
“The widespread availability of gambling facilities, along with increased access to mobile smartphones and digital literacy, ambitions for economic liberation, and passion about sport intensifies these problems, especially impacting young and financially vulnerable populations.”
Rwanda’s gambling legislation
Rwanda’s gambling legislation was developed in 2011. It came into force in 2012 and provided for the licensing of casinos, lotteries, electronic gaming machines, sports betting, and online gaming.
There were 26 licenced operators in Rwanda in 2021 but only 13 were still active in 2024. This was due to the Covid-19 pandemic and licence revocations in the slot machine sector. The current active licences cover sports betting (7), casinos (2) and online gaming (4), and National Lottery holds one licence.
The policy documents note that about 45 percent of the population in Rwanda owns a digital device like smartphone. However, while the online channel has driven the growth of gambling, the government has seen “poor compliance with tax regulations” amongst online gaming operators.
New policy purpose
The new gambling policy aims to minimise the negative socio-economic impact of gambling; maximise the economic impact of the industry; and create a robust regulatory and compliance framework. Rwanda Development Board, which assumes responsibility from the Ministry of Trade, will regulate the market.
The document states that “the lack of robust regulation and effective monitoring has resulted in issues such as tax evasion, fraudulent operations, and unfair competition among operators. Additionally, the revenue generated from gambling often does not translate into meaningful socio-economic development due to the industry’s poor compliance with tax obligations.”‘
According to the new rules, operations are required to provide responsible gambling tools such as self-exclusion options, deposit limits, and access to support services. Meanwhile, advertising regulations will include a ban on the use of celebrities and sports people.
Another area of focus will be effective taxation. The current tax rate of 13 percent is expected to rise, especially for online gaming. Operators will be required to work with licenced suppliers whose systems report revenue directly to regulatory authorities in a bid to strengthen the revenue collection system.
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