Impact of new licensing fees on Zimbabwean gambling facilities

Earlier in the year, the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Kazembe Kazembe announced that the all licensing fees for gambling houses in Zimbabwe were getting increased. The increase took effect immediately, and it affected all types of casinos, bookmakers, lotteries, and other types of gambling facilities.

The licensing fees now stand at $250.000, with operators also having to pay $50.000 to renew their licenses on a yearly basis. Between the licensing and the renewal fees, the country's many gambling facilities took a significant hit in terms of finances.

This is not to say that the casinos and other gambling houses could not still make a profit, had it not been for the pandemic. Due to Covid, all the gambling facilities got temporarily shut down, making it even more difficult for them to actually stay afloat.

With all this happening, the online gambling in the country is thriving. Online casinos, betting sites, and bingo sites are getting more traffic than ever, with more people turning to online gambling due to fear of the disease and the fact that live gambling facilities have been struggling lately.

Online Gambling Growing in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a country with a great number of dedicated sports fans who enjoy sports betting more than most other hobbies. In recent years, online casino games have also been gaining traction, especially with the younger generations. The growth of mobile internet networks has allowed more young people in the country to turn to online gambling.

There are many reasons that Zimbabwe has a big online gambling market, but poverty is one of the keys. Like so many developing countries, Zimbabwe is riddled with the plague of gambling, with many people looking to games of chance as a way to change their lives. Of course, in most cases, the change is only for the worse.

While there are few online gambling sites regulated in the country, citizens of Zimbabwe are more than free to join the hundreds of gambling sites with international licenses. Not only does this mean a massive loss of money, but it also means that the government is not able to tax any of the losses or get anything back from the companies organizing the games.

With players turning to games like the Casinotalk online slots and online betting at foreign sites, the Zimbabwean local economy is only suffering. The increased licensing and renewal fees for local gambling institutions may actually end up hurting even more, as operators are forced out of business and international online sites take over the player base.

The Future of Gambling in Zimbabwe

It is never easy to predict the future, but judging by the current numbers and trends, we can make an educated guess that the number of active gamblers in the country will not go down anytime soon. After all, most struggling nations of the world resort to gambling as a way for individuals to try to solve their everyday financial problems.

The Zimbabwean government should do more to restrict gambling as the negative economic trends it causes are only further diminishing the struggling economy. The increase of licensing fees for the operators is a step in the right direction, but there is little they can do to protect people from international operators who will likely continue to take business from Zimbabwean players and funnel cash out of the local economy forever.