Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism held regional workshops in October 2026 on proposed amendments to the rules for lotteries and gambling. Consultations on the draft took place in March and April. The Gambling Board of Namibia (GBN) is supposed to enforce the rules, but according to Minister Indileni Daniel, it has not yet reached full operation.
Comments from the regional workshops will be collected in Windhoek, after which the draft moves to the next step: official notice in the Government Gazette. The draft sets no timeline.
The amendments introduce new fees on operators. They would fund a central electronic monitoring system that tracks gaming activity and transactions of licensed operators in real time. The board has already tendered for this system under the Casinos and Gambling Act of 2018, and the procurement also includes an automated licensing platform. Bids for both tenders have been extended to 5 November. Among the proposals is a license for electronic programmed lotteries for digital and online platforms.
Separately, the board has scheduled a workshop for 15 October for applicants for bookmaker and totalisator licenses, covering licensing requirements and the technical readiness of betting platforms.
Under the current 2021 rules, casinos, gambling houses, bars and small drinking establishments with slot machines pay 10% of net monthly income. Totalisators pay a separate levy of 10% of gross monthly receipts. It is still unclear how the new fees will sit on top of these rates.
Daniel told parliament that the board's staff still have to be hired. The shortage of people, she said, limits player education and rehabilitation programs. She added that applications for activities banned under current law are not being considered.
The Ministry of Finance's report for 2023/24 set a gambling revenue collection target of $0.27 million (N$5 million at the exchange rate of 23 October), but nothing was collected. Daniel also told parliament that the Gambling Trust Fund has so far received about $0.92 million (N$17 million).
If the amendments only affect subordinate legislation, they need to be published in the Government Gazette. Changes to the law itself will have to pass through parliament. The nearest date in this story is 5 November, when bidding for the tenders closes.
