Gambling Authority to issue new Gambling Licenses

Published On - February 8, 2017

AdminG News

Press Release

Gambling Authority to Issue New Gambling Licences
The Gambling Authority is a statutory body mandated with licensing and regulating the gambling industry in Botswana.
The Gambling Authority Board, as mandated by the Honourable Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, has at its January 23rd 2017 meeting, approved the issuing of the following licenses:

  1. Casinos
  2. Lottery
  3. Sports Betting
  4. Bingo

The Authority will publish invitations to the public to apply for licences through the Request for Application (RFA) process, which will set out the requirements for each of the licence types and the locations of the licences where appropriate.
Several key criteria will be applicable in the licence application process and these will include, but not be limited to the following:

  1. Demonstrable ability to manage successfully the licence type being applied for including technology, processes, controls and any intellectual property possessed;
  2. Personal profiles of the applicants (each shareholder/consortium member) with a clear track record and clean criminal record;
  3. The level of citizen participation in shareholding and management of the project;
  4. Employment of citizens
  5. Training and development commitment
  6. CSI commitments
  7. A very clear commitment to responsible gambling through policies and action plans.

The application times and the processing times and guidelines will be contained in the RFA for each licence type. The detailed RFA’s will be available for a nominal fee beginning February 2017. Once the fee has been paid, the applicant will receive the Detailed RFA for their licence type.
Applicants will then apply for a licence following the guideline outlined in the RFA. Timelines pertaining to each licence type will be detailed in the RFA. Application are to be submitted by the submission date, along with the application fee, for the application to be received by the Authority.
The Authority will confirm all application received and embark on the evaluation process. This will run concurrently with in-camera interviews, invitations for objections as well as scheduled public hearings.
The outcome of the evaluation will be made public, following decision to award by the Board.