Tanzania’s gaming sector generated TZS307.8 billion ($116.2 million) in tax revenue during the financial year ended June 2026, according to Gaming Board of Tanzania director general James Mbalwe, as mobile access and digital payments continued to reshape the country’s gambling market.
Mbalwe tells iGB the sector’s rise had been driven by wider smartphone access, digital-payment growth and a shift towards online products.
He also outlines challenges that have emerged with that expansion, including illegal slot machine activity, unregulated online platforms and inadequate player-protection systems.
Gambling tax revenue on the rise
“The annual tax revenue from the gaming sector has been increasing year in and year out, owing to the growth of the sector,” Mbalwe says.
He notes the latest figure relates to the 2025/26 financial year, which ended in June. The board’s earlier public reporting had pointed to upward momentum in gaming tax receipts and Mbalwe’s comments suggest that trajectory continued through the most recent fiscal year.
Mobile access accelerates online shift
Mbalwe attributes the revenue growth to mobile-phone access. He says widespread use of mobile devices has made online gambling, particularly sports betting and casino, easier to access without visiting a physical venue.
Digital payments have also simplified staking and withdrawals, he remarks.
“The payment transactions (wagering and withdrawal of winnings) have been hugely simplified and made convenient,” he explains. “This has therefore attracted more punters to participate in gaming.”
He also links the market’s growth to Tanzania’s young population and its familiarity with digital entertainment. He says the evolution from retail gambling to online products has changed the composition of sector revenue.
“The online games have accelerated revenue performance of the sector,” Mbalwe continues. “Before 2016, the biggest chunk of revenue came from mortar and brick casino followed by slot machines operation.
“This scene slowly started to shift after online games picked up, where at the moment revenue from online-based games is on top.”
Mbalwe says legal and economic reforms have opened the sector to private investment. With the exception of the national lottery, which he notes remains government-owned but privately run, gaming operations are privately owned and open to domestic and foreign investors.
“The sector is legally recognised and there is an established entity to regulate the sector.”
He also clarifies that a proposed 5% excise duty on betting stakes was not implemented.
“Excise duty of 5% was shelved, so the status quo has remained the same.”
Illegal machines and local enforcement
On the land-based side, Mbalwe says the board has continued its crackdown on illegal slot machines. More than 3,000 machines were seized in the last financial year and that they were mostly “manufactured and operated by Chinese nationals”.
“The efforts have paid a dividend as the number of reported incidents of illegal operations have significantly gone down,” he says, noting that illegal operators have adapted by moving into remote areas where enforcement is harder to sustain.
“Criminals keep switching their tactics and modus operandi by targeting areas which are remote and hard to be policed by the board,” he suggests.
Mbalwe observes that local government authorities could help identify illegal machines and report them more quickly because of their nationwide presence.
“Unlike the board, the local government authority has full presence in all corners of the country and therefore it becomes easy to detect and report illegal machine operations which are conducted in their respective areas,” he adds.
“Collaboration with local government authorities will hugely facilitate timely enforcement of the law and hence tame illegal machine operations in the country.”
Self-exclusion and player protection
Tanzania provides a self-exclusion route through which an individual can ask the board to circulate their details to gambling locations. Mbalwe says the existing process is manual and insufficient.
“Through the self-exclusion process, the particulars and photos of self-excluded players are taken and circulated to operators to refuse access to gaming,” he notes. “This process is done manually and has appeared to be not adequate.”
The regulator plans to introduce electronic, real-time monitoring through a central database, which Mbalwe says would be procured through a public-private partnership.
“This will entail setting up an electronic central database to monitor self-excluded players. It will be easy to detect and stop victims from re-engaging in gaming,” he says.
Regarding the aspect of player protection, Mbalwe feels the Gaming Act requires stronger coverage of responsible gambling and player protection.
“The present legislation (Gaming Act Cap 41) has limited coverage on responsible gaming and player protection,” he notes. Currently, the law bars minors from participating in gaming activities, but there is no elaborate framework on player protection and responsible gaming.
Online platforms remain a challenge
Mbalwe remarks that the board’s current regulatory framework limits the access of unregulated online platforms to Tanzania’s gaming market.
However, he acknowledges that criminals and unscrupulous operators continue to exploit these platforms. He adds that regulating unlicensed online gambling is particularly challenging because such operations transcend national borders, making them difficult to control fully.
According to him, licensed businesses may use only platforms certified by licensed global testing agencies. The board also works with the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority and the Police Cybersecurity Bureau to investigate and block unregulated platforms, while working with mobile companies to identify gaming-payment aggregators and providers.
“The plan ahead is for the board to have its own tools that will be used to prevent or get rid of unregulated platforms from accessing the gaming market,” he adds. “These collaborative measures will largely stamp out unregulated online platforms.”
GRAF 2027 priorities
Tanzania will host the Gaming Regulatory Africa Forum (GRAF) conference in 2027, which Mbalwe says would offer the board an opportunity to “showcase the gaming industry footprint”.
He notes that the board wants, among other things, an agenda that will cover illegal online operations, online platform services and gaming taxation.
“Online illegal operations are increasingly becoming a regulatory staple challenge,” he continues. “While this is a cross-border crime, it has been noted that most regulators tackle this problem in silos, by employing tools which cannot cater beyond the geographical mandate. It is high time to change this approach by working beyond the confined borders.
“The other issue should cover online platform services. While providers of the system are benefiting most, it has been noted that they are least levied in the operation ecosystem compared to the rest. The discussion should focus on what should be done to reverse this trend.
“The other thorny issue is taxation. There is limited understanding on how the industry should be taxed and how to balance the scale of taxation. Discussions on this issue will immensely enlighten participants.”
Mbalwe says the board’s priorities over the next 12 months are electronic monitoring to strengthen revenue collection and action against illegal operations across digital and land-based channels.
“The board’s priorities for the coming 12 months include enhancing revenue collection by deploying a robust electronic monitoring system,” he comments. “The other priority is to stamp out illegal operations both online and offline.”
A warm welcome
Mbalwe says the board intends the GRAF conference to address practical regulatory challenges through specialist speakers, benchmarking and networking, noting: “Tanzania looks forward to welcoming delegates to the beautiful country, renowned for its warm hospitality, rich culture and natural attractions, including Zanzibar, the Serengeti and Mount Kilimanjaro.”
He adds that the board hopes the upcoming GRAF conference will be well attended and memorable, with a focus on practical issues and the development of tailored solutions.
In this regard, he concludes: “We will try to procure resource persons with in-depth understanding on each subject which will be conversed on during the conference.”