Ugandan lawmakers have celebrated the launch of the country’s new National Lottery, as the government pledged to use the funds it raises to help pay for projects relating to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya will be joint hosts for the bi-annual international football tournament, which is being held in East Africa for the first time since Ethiopia hosted the tournament in 1976.
The official launch of the national lottery took place on July 26, with Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja among the swathe of high-ranking politicians in attendance. Ticket sales for the lottery have been accepted since June.
Nabbanja said: “I'm optimistic that the National Lottery is going to significantly benefit our country, offering opportunities to the citizenry across all social classes. I am confident that under ITHUBA, we will see growth and integrity in lottery operations.”
Government minister Matia Kasaija revealed at the event that Uganda’s Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board had collected USH$193bn (US$51.85m) in taxes over the past fiscal year, a figure which could rise to USH$300bn with the introduction of the national lottery.
Increased revenue collection from gambling has been bolstered by the long-awaited launch of the National Central Electronic Monitoring System (NCEMS) in January 2024, which allows the regulator to track industry activity in real time.
Operators have begun to integrate the monitoring system and it is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2024.
ITHUBA Uganda, a subsidiary of a South African National Lottery operator ITHUBA, was licensed by the Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board on August 8, 2023 to be the exclusive operator of the National Lottery for ten years.
Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board's board chairman, Aloysius Mugasa Adyeri, said ITHUBA and the national lottery are creating 1,700 jobs directly, consisting mostly of retailers who earn 5 percent commission on sales.
“In addition, ITHUBA aims to create over 100,000 indirect jobs which will improve the livelihood of Ugandans,” Adyeri said at the official launch.
ITHUBA has already invested over $41m into the Uganda National Lottery.
The company’s Uganda chairman Bob Kabonero said he is excited by the opportunity and potential the new lottery will offer.
“The National Lottery, beyond being a means with which to cultivate our community development, is a catalyst and mechanism for socioeconomic transformation. The Lottery will enable Ugandans in every region, across industries,” Kabonero said.
In the build-up to the launch event, the Ugandan gambling regulator hosted representatives from the Botswanan and Namibian gambling regulators for a benchmarking exercise on National Lottery operations and to facilitate other information sharing.