THE government last week hiked licensing fees for all lotteries, casinos and betting shops which are now pegged at $250 000.
In an extraordinary government gazette, Home Affairs
minister Kazembe Kazembe fixed the new rates that have come into effect
immediately.
“It is hereby notified that the minister of Home Affairs
and Cultural Heritage has, in terms of section 65 of the Lotteries and Gaming
Act [Chapter 10:26] as read with sections 16 and 23 of the betting and
totalizator Control Act [Chapter 10:02], made the (reviewed the fees)
regulations,” reads the notice.
The verifying and processing of a permanent casino licence
or lottery licence applications were also fixed at $250 000.
The renewal of a totalisator licence, verifying and
processing totalisator licence application is up to $50 000 while the issue or
renewal of a gaming house licence or verifying and processing a gaming house
licence application is now fixed at $50 000 as well.
For the issue or renewal of a bookmaker’s licence or the
verifying and processing bookmaker’s licence is also set at $50 000. Zimbabwe
has plenty of licensed land-based casinos and a State-run lottery game.
The Zimbabwe Lotteries and Gambling Board regulates
gambling activities within the border under the Lotteries and Gambling Act.
If players win any money while horse or sports betting or
pool betting, they have to pay the government a 10 percent tax. If they win a
jackpot while playing casino games, they have to pay a 15 percent tax.
Licensed gambling activities generate sizable revenue for
the government of Zimbabwe and most of this revenue is generated by the
activities of tourists who enjoy playing casino games in its land-based
casinos.
As previously mentioned, the Lotteries and the Gambling
Board of Zimbabwe regulates and supervises all gambling activities within the
borders of the country. It complies with the Lotteries and Gambling Act, which
was passed into law in 2000.
The board also grants licences to individuals and companies
who want to run betting and gambling establishments within Zimbabwe.
In recent years, there has been a huge proliferation of
betting houses driven by the popularity of European football especially the
English Premier League.
Before the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, betting houses
were always full to the brim particularly on weekends with punters placing
their bets on different matches.
Most of the betting houses had also invested in online
platforms allowing punters to place bets remotely using mobile money transfer
platforms and Visa cards.
With betting houses currently closed due to the lockdown,
punters are currently placing their bets online. Daily News
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