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“The Ministry of Finance reaffirms its determination to drive the reform of the gambling and games of chance sector in accordance with government directives, while upholding legal certainty for operators, transparency in activities and the protection of the Public Treasury’s interests,” said the press release, signed by Alain Malata Kafunda, the chief of staff to the DRC minister of finance.
The press release also warned operators against complying with any payment requests from departments that aren’t legally authorised to do so.
It called for any such acts to be reported immediately to the Ministry of Finance and the Directorate General of Administrative, Judicial, State Property and Equity Revenues (DGRAD).
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“While we’ve made substantial progress, our work is not finished. We’ll continue working with operators to recover funding for communities, improve compliance and maintain public confidence in the integrity of class 4 gambling.”
Alongside the recovery of NZ$11.5 million, the DIA also took action against the class 4 gambling society One Foundation.
One Foundation’s operating licence was suspended for six days after the DIA identified accounting failures relating to gambling proceeds, as well as a failure to surrender a licence for one of its pokies venues when required by law.
What is Thimbles?
Illegal betting remained a central enforcement concern. In December 2025, the Gambling Authority and Financial Intelligence Agency were reported to be investigating eight foreign-based betting websites allegedly using local proxies to operate in Botswana.
Authorities were also reported to be working with communications and financial-sector bodies to restrict access to illegal platforms and disrupt associated payment channels.
With parliamentary approval secured, attention will now turn to presidential assent, commencement and implementation. The Gambling Authority will face the task of translating the proposed reforms into stronger digital oversight, more effective action against unlicensed operators and practical customer safeguards as Botswana’s regulated market continues to expand.
