Tanzania projects surge in gaming revenue for 2025/2026 fiscal year
Parliamentarians in Dodoma received encouraging news about Tanzania’s gaming sector revenue when Minister for Finance, Dr Mwigulu Nchemba, delivered his review of the 2024/2025 budget and outlined projections for the year ahead. Opening his address, the Minister quoted the latest figures, stating, “The gaming sector has generated 17.42bn TZS ($6.7 million) in government revenue during the 2024/2025 financial year and is planning to collect 24.89bn TZS ($10 million) in the 2025/2026 fiscal year.”
He reminded lawmakers that the numbers capture statutory levies, licence fees and an assortment of compliance charges remitted by betting shops, online platforms and casino operators.
Outturn versus target
Dr Nchemba acknowledged that the Gaming Board of Tanzania is targeting collections of $10 million for the current fiscal year, but has already reached $6.7 million.
The Minister noted that seasonal variations and back-loaded quarterly payments generally push disbursements toward the end of June, and the board remains confident it will close the gap before books are finalised.
Ambitious goal
Looking ahead to 2025/2026, the Ministry has set a more demanding revenue target of 24.89 billion TZS ($10 million) for Tanzania, representing an increase of almost 7 billion TZS ($3 million). The projection is anchored on anticipated economic expansion, deeper mobile-money penetration, and a licensing regime designed to formalise what the Board estimates is still a sizeable grey market.
Risk-based inspections and enforcement operations
To safeguard both Tanzania’s revenue and consumer welfare, the board plans to strengthen field oversight. Dr Nchemba informed the House that the regulator will conduct two risk-based inspections and four operations to crack down on illegal gambling activities. The inspection schedule relies on data analytics to flag outlets with anomalous turnover patterns, repeated customer complaints or overdue filings.
During targeted operations, enforcement teams, typically drawn from the Gaming Board of Tanzania, the Tanzanian Police Force, and local authorities, will seize unlicensed machines, suspend suspect online domains, and, where necessary, make arrests.
Economic significance
Beyond tax receipts, analysts emphasise that the gaming sector now sustains thousands of direct jobs, spurs technological innovation in payments and contributes to tourism through destination casinos in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.
With Parliament’s attention secured and new tools poised for deployment, Tanzania’s gaming industry appears set for a milestone year. Effective execution of the licensing timetable, coupled with vigilant enforcement, will determine whether Tanzania reaches, or perhaps exceeds, the 29.89 billion TZS ($11.5 million) revenue target outlined by Dr Mwigulu Nchemba. For now, both Treasury and industry participants are aligning behind the shared objective of turning projected numbers into tangible contributions to the national budget during the 2025/2026 fiscal cycle.
