Tanzania Collects TZS307.8bn in Gaming Taxes as Digital Growth Tests Oversight

Tanzania’s gambling industry generated TZS307.8bn in tax revenue in the financial year ended June 2026, as smartphone access and digital payments continued to shift activity online.

The figures highlight the sector’s growing fiscal contribution, but also the challenge facing regulators: ensuring enforcement and player protection keep pace with an increasingly accessible market.

Speaking to iGB, Gaming Board of Tanzania director general James Mbalwe identified online gambling as a leading source of growth. Illegal gaming machines, unregulated websites and limitations in existing self-exclusion systems remain priorities for the authorities.

Online activity reshapes the market

Easier access to smartphones and payment services has changed how Tanzanian customers engage with betting and casino products, moving the industry away from its earlier reliance on physical venues.

“The online games have accelerated revenue performance of the sector,” Mbalwe told iGB. “Before 2016, the biggest chunk of revenue came from mortar and brick casino followed by slot machines operation.”

That transition is also increasing pressure on the regulator to tackle unlicensed platforms. The board is working with the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority and the Police Cybersecurity Bureau, while planning to strengthen its own technical capabilities.

“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,” Mbalwe said. “These collaborative measures will largely stamp out unregulated online platforms.”

Gaming machines face closer scrutiny

Alongside online enforcement, the government is reviewing oversight of land-based gaming machines.

Deputy Finance Minister Mshamu Munde told Parliament that authorities were finalising a revenue-sharing agreement between central government and local councils covering gaming-machine activity.

The arrangement is intended to improve coordination between national and local authorities and strengthen supervision of operators.

The government has also suspended new gaming-machine licences for foreign operators while assessing their wider social and economic impact. The decision follows parliamentary concerns about machines described as “Chinese gaming machines” operating in parts of the country.

A real-time monitoring system for gaming machines is also under development.

Self-exclusion needs a stronger foundation

Player protection is another area where the regulator sees a need for change. The board is planning a central database of self-excluded players to address weaknesses in the current arrangements.

According to Mbalwe, the existing process relies heavily on manual checks and information shared between operators, an approach the regulator considers inadequate.

For Tanzania, the next stage of market development will depend on more than rising tax receipts. Effective monitoring, coordinated enforcement and a reliable self-exclusion system will be central to managing the industry’s digital expansion.