What is the minimum gambling age in Uganda?

Twenty-five. The regulator states that it is an offence to permit a person under 25 to take part in any gambling activity, including buying or selling lottery tickets. It is the highest legal gambling age in Africa.

Is online casino licensed in Uganda?

Yes. The Casino Operating Licence issued by the National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board expressly includes virtual or online platforms where a person may participate in a game approved by the Board.

Sovereign state

Africa

ISO UG

Review due

Uganda: gambling regulation and licensing

Republic of Uganda

Online sports bettingRegulated
Online casinoRegulated
Online bingoRegulated

Regulator: National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board
Headline tax: Not yet verified
Licence required: Yes
Last verified: 30 Aug 2026

Summary

Uganda licenses online gambling clearly and then narrows the market with an age rule almost nobody else uses. The National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board, created by the Lotteries and Gaming Act No. 7 of 2016, publishes ten licence categories, of which the General Betting Licence covers online and land-based sports betting, the Casino Operating Licence expressly includes virtual and online platforms, and the Bingo Operating Licence includes remote and online bingo. There is also a standalone Gambling Software Licence for suppliers. The regulator states that permitting anyone under 25 to gamble is an offence, which is the highest legal gambling age in Africa. Tax is unsettled: Parliament has passed a harmonised 30 per cent rate on betting and gaming from 1 July 2026, while the 15 per cent withholding tax on winnings was returned unsigned by the President on 14 July 2026. A minimum age of 25 is the single most consequential fact for anyone modelling Uganda, because it removes the demographic that drives volume in every comparable African market. The unresolved tax position compounds that, leaving both the addressable audience and the cost base uncertain.

Key facts

Regulator: National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (NLGRB)
Regulator type: Gaming board
Headline tax: Not yet verified
Licence required: Yes
Minimum age: 25+
Tax base: In flux, so no settled rate is recorded. Before the 2026 reforms, trade reporting put the tax on gaming at 30 per cent of gross gaming revenue and on betting at 20 per cent under the Lotteries and Gaming Act, 2016 as last amended in 2023. Parliament passed the Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Bill 2026 to harmonise both at 30 per cent from 1 July 2026, and the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2026 to add a 15 per cent withholding tax on net winnings. The President declined to assent to the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill and returned it to Parliament on 14 July 2026, objecting to its exemption for winnings from licensed land-based casinos. The assent position of the Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Bill could not be confirmed at review.
Capital: Kampala
Currency: UGX
Official languages: English, Swahili

Legal framework

Primary statutes

Lotteries and Gaming Act, 2016 (Act No. 7 of 2016)
Year
2016
In force
Yes
Summary
Establishes the National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board as a corporate body mandated to regulate and oversee lotteries, gaming and betting, and empowers it under section 4 to license lotteries, casinos, gaming and betting in Uganda. Section 24 covers public lotteries run by registered institutions for charitable purposes. The Board publishes ten licence categories under the Act, three of which are expressly online or remote.

Pending legislation

Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Bill 2026
Stage
Passed by Parliament. Assent not confirmed at review
Expected
1 Jul 2026
What it changes
Harmonises the tax rate on betting and gaming at 30 per cent of gross gaming revenue from 1 July 2026, replacing the previous split of 30 per cent on gaming and 20 per cent on betting.
Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2026
Stage
Passed by Parliament, returned unsigned by the President on 14 July 2026 for reconsideration
What it changes
Would introduce a 15 per cent withholding tax on net winnings from betting and gaming. Clause 11 exempted winnings from land-based casinos licensed under the Lotteries and Gaming Act, 2016, and the President objected that the exemption would create an uneven playing field and open opportunities for tax avoidance and revenue leakage.

Licensing

Licence required: Yes
Application window: Not yet verified
Local establishment required: Not yet verified
Local server required: Not yet verified
Barriers to entry: Licence fees and durations are not published on the regulator public pages, which makes cost modelling hard from outside. The bigger practical constraint is the addressable market: a minimum gambling age of 25 removes the entire 18 to 24 cohort that most operator acquisition models in the region assume.

Licence types

General Betting Licence
Scope
Online and land-based sports betting, covering wagers on races, competitions or other events or processes.
Casino Operating Licence
Scope
A private club, or a room in a club, hotel or other establishment where gambling takes place, including virtual or online platforms where a person may participate in a game approved by the Board.
Bingo Operating Licence
Scope
Bingo, including remote bingo, online bingo and facilities for providing bingo.
Gambling Software Licence
Scope
Persons providing software used remotely or directly in connection with gaming or betting, or any game which affects the result of a wager by determining a win or loss.
National Lottery Licence
Scope
An exclusive licence conducted by or on behalf of the Minister responsible for finance to raise funds for a purpose defined by the Minister.
Other categories
Scope
Public Lottery Licence, Promotional Competitions, Pool Betting Licence, Machine General Operating and Slot Machine Licence (which does not apply to games offered online), and a licence to manufacture, supply and install gaming equipment.

Taxation

Headline GGR tax: Not yet verified
Effective date: Not yet verified
Tax base: In flux, so no settled rate is recorded. Before the 2026 reforms, trade reporting put the tax on gaming at 30 per cent of gross gaming revenue and on betting at 20 per cent under the Lotteries and Gaming Act, 2016 as last amended in 2023. Parliament passed the Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Bill 2026 to harmonise both at 30 per cent from 1 July 2026, and the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2026 to add a 15 per cent withholding tax on net winnings. The President declined to assent to the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill and returned it to Parliament on 14 July 2026, objecting to its exemption for winnings from licensed land-based casinos. The assent position of the Lotteries and Gaming (Amendment) Bill could not be confirmed at review.

Scheduled changes

30 per cent of gross gaming revenue from 1 Jul 2026
Proposed
Harmonised tax on betting and gaming at 30 per cent of gross gaming revenue
15 per cent of net winnings from Returned to Parliament unsigned on 14 July 2026 over the exemption for licensed land-based casinos.
Proposed
Withholding tax of 15 per cent on net winnings from betting and gaming

Compliance

Minimum age: 25+
National self-exclusion: Not yet verified
KYC requirements: The regulator states that it is an offence to permit a minor, defined as a person under the age of 25, to play or take part in any gambling activity, including buying or selling lottery tickets. This is the highest minimum gambling age in Africa and is the single most important compliance fact about Uganda.
Stake limits: Not yet verified

Advertising

Advertising permitted: Yes
Affiliate rules: Affiliates are not separately licensed. Only operators licensed by the Board may be promoted, and a standalone Gambling Software Licence exists for suppliers.
Celebrity and influencer rules: Because the minimum gambling age is 25, endorsement formats and channels that reach adults under 25 are within the protected group, not merely those aimed at minors.
Penalties for breach: The National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board licenses and supervises, and permitting a person under 25 to gamble is an offence rather than a licence condition alone.

Restrictions

Gambling is licensed by the National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board under the Lotteries and Gaming Act No. 7 of 2016, and only licensed operators may be promoted.
The regulator states that permitting anyone under 25 to gamble is an offence, the highest legal gambling age in Africa, which makes the protected audience far wider than the usual under-18 threshold.
Advertising must therefore avoid reaching adults aged 18 to 24 as well as minors, a constraint with no real parallel in comparable markets.
Licence categories cover online and land-based sports betting, casino operation including virtual and online platforms, and remote and online bingo.

Outlook

Two live threads. First, the tax package: whether the harmonised 30 per cent of gross gaming revenue is in force, and what Parliament does with the returned withholding tax bill now that the President has rejected the land-based casino carve-out as an avoidance route. Second, publication: fees, licence durations and the statute text are not readily available from the regulator public pages, and the regulator own general information page cites a Gambling Act, 2018 that does not correspond to the 2016 Act. That documentation gap, not the policy, is what makes Uganda hard to underwrite.

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum gambling age in Uganda?: Twenty-five. The regulator states that it is an offence to permit a person under 25 to take part in any gambling activity, including buying or selling lottery tickets. It is the highest legal gambling age in Africa.
Is online casino licensed in Uganda?: Yes. The Casino Operating Licence issued by the National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board expressly includes virtual or online platforms where a person may participate in a game approved by the Board.

iGT coverage of Uganda

Uganda Introduces Flat 30% GGR Tax and 15% Winnings Levy in Sweeping Gambling Tax Reform

Regulatory

30 Apr 2026

Uganda Introduces Flat 30% GGR Tax and 15% Winnings Levy in Sweeping Gambling Tax Reform

Uganda is overhauling its gambling tax structure from July 2026, introducing some of the steepest rates on the African continent. Operators and players alike will feel the impact, and the black market risk is real.

Sources

National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board
National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board, Uganda
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026
Categories of licenses
National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board, Uganda
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026
General information
National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board, Uganda
The page attributes the under-25 offence to a Gambling Act, 2018, which is not the name of the Ugandan statute. The governing Act is the Lotteries and Gaming Act No. 7 of 2016, which the same regulator cites elsewhere. The 25-year threshold is corroborated by trade reporting; the statutory citation on the page appears to be wrong.
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026
President Museveni returns two tax Bills to Parliament
Parliament of Uganda
Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026Published 15 Jul 2026
Uganda approves harmonised tax rate for betting and gaming, with 15 per cent burden on winnings
iGaming Business
Reports parliamentary passage of both bills for 1 July 2026 and does not address presidential assent. The Parliament of Uganda record shows the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2026 was later returned unsigned on 14 July 2026, so the 15 per cent withholding tax is not treated as in force here.
Tier 4Accessed 4 Aug 2026Published 30 Apr 2026