Govt bet on gaming sector yields surprising windfall

        Dar es Salaam. Taxes collected from gaming companies are expected to grow by 18 per cent in the financial 2017/18 due to an increase in the number of entities involved in the sub sector.

The Gaming Board of Tanzania (GBT), the regulator for sports gaming, has projected a rapid growth from which the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) could harvest Sh39 billion up from Sh33.6 billion collected in the last financial year.

The acting director general of GBT, Mr James Mbalwe, told The Citizen last week that the number of gaming companies had increased from five in past three years to 26, hailing such a trend as a huge growth.

“We are optimistic of increased revenues as currently there are four foreign and local companies that have shown interest in Tanzania. All the processes have already been completed with only a few issues remaining to be ironed out. We’re optimistic that in the next year they will beging their operations” he said.

Investors are now more interested in sports gaming than casinos due to online betting that has brought services closer to the player, he said, adding that in the last financial year revenues from sports betting hit Sh7.8 billion.

Once a leader in the gaming sector, casinos brought in a paltry Sh400 million. However, Mr Mbalwe was quick to add that casino gaming was also doing well in the market in spite of the rapid growth in sports betting.

According to Mr Mbalwe, SMS lottery company Biko is the current market leader and accounts for a majority of revenues, followed by others including SportPesa. Last month alone the revenue was estimated at Sh2 billion according to the regulator.

The pace of growth is due to good regulation policies in Tanzania which assures investors in sports betting safety of their investments based on the efficiency of the board in supervision as well as the posirive way in which people have received the product.

Investors in the gaming sub-sector from Kenya, Malawi and Uganda and other foreign companies, who have visited Tanzania, have ended up sending their investment proposals. The GBT chief also revealed that the board planned to invest Sh824.4 million in technology development because the industry was revolving, with a lot of changes taking place daily.

For his part, TRA director for Tax Payer Services and Education, Mr Richard Kayombo, told The Citizen that the gaming industry was among the fastest growing sectors in the country and a rich ground for collecting revenues.

“We’re also positive that this financial year we’ll collect Sh39 billion or more. The regulator should continue to build a conducive environment for investors,” he said.