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The fluctuation of excise duty tax on the gambling industry has been a key topic across Africa in the past year.

In Zambia, there has been continued rallying against the touted introduction of a 10% excise duty tax on all betting stakes.

It prompted an application from BetPawa and Betway to halt the tax, however, this was dismissed by the country’s Constitutional Court.

At the heart of the appeal against the introduction of the tax were claims that it breached section 7 of the customs Excise (Amendment) Act No. 11 of 2025. Objections included an alleged lack of transparency, inadequate public consultation, and severe economic impact.

Furthermore, they also claimed that it was excessive, ambiguous, unimplementable and financially unsustainable, warning that it could have key impacts on their ability to operate in the country in the future.

Nonetheless, the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) underpinned that the excise duty stems from consumption by bettors and not operators, affirming that it had engaged with stakeholders on the decision.

Following this, the operators looked to implement an interim injunction to stop enforcement of the excise duty pending the full hearing of their constitutional petition.

ZRA countered that the tax was lawful and implementable in its current form. The organisation emphasised that any interference at this stage would be an encroachment on its statutory duty.

Seemingly cementing a future for excise duty in Zambia, the Court decided that the petitioners failed to demonstrate a sufficiently serious constitutional issue to justify suspending the law at this stage.

Of note in Zambia is the 10% figure, which is intriguing as it sits between Kenya’s previous 15% threshold and the figure it was recently lowered to, 5%.

When lowering the levels of tax, Kenya also undertook a subtle but significant change in the way it takes excise duty, instead of taxing when a bet is placed, like Zambia, they opted to take it at the point in which funds are transferred from a mobile‐money wallet to a betting account.

The country’s chairman of the Finance Committee, MP Kimani Kuria, said: “When you are placing a bet, the current taxation regime is that when you have money in your mobile money account and then you transfer that money to the wallet of a betting company, the time of charging excise duty is when you place a bet.

“There are so many entities operating virtually, some outside the country from which we are not able to get this excise duty from them. This now means that every time a Kenyan transfers money from their mobile wallet to the wallet of the betting company, then that’s the time the excise duty is paid.”

It underpins that emerging markets are eyeing flexible measures in the way that they gain the maximum economic uplift from the gambling sector.

Whilst the two African markets are taking alternative strategies to the implementation of excise duty, both clearly view it as a strong avenue to elevating tax intake from the gambling industry.

If market forecasts are to be believed, the decision of Kenya to decrease its excise duty tax could be set to pay off as they are predicted to see an uplift in gaming tax intake. Zambia will provide an interesting comparison as time tests whether the implementation of excise duty has an overall benefit to the economy and the gambling sector’s output.

Rates in Nigeria also frame Zambia as setting a relatively high bar for excise duty tax. In Nigeria, a withholding tax of 5% on winnings for residents and 15% for non-residents has been introduced.

The need to ensure market nuances are met while at the same time retaining simplicity can’t be understated when it comes to a complex tax structure. However, critics right now argue that Zambia is lacking this as it heads towards a straight 10% rate.

In a recent interview with iGaming Expert, Christopher Coyne, Co-Founder and CEO of 888 Africa shared his trepidation that Zambia would take a lead from Kenya in terms of taxation rates, subsequently making it less appealing for operator expansion.

In terms of markets that present an opportunity, Coyne predicted that in five years, Nigeria will grow to become a giant, adding that Egypt has huge potential should it regulate in the coming years.

For many, Malawi remains one of the most alluring markets, following its drastic shift in gaming tax from 20% to 5%, in 2023.

The implementation of the LOK (the country’s new regulatory framework) remains on track even amidst the mass departures of the Curacao Gaming Authority’s Supervisory Board, according to a defiant message from the regulator.

Following the board’s resignation in mid-September, Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas had reportedly taken direct oversight of the board to fulfill plans for Curacao gambling licences to enter a new era of higher compliance standards and regulatory governance.

However, the government has since denied Pisas’ intervention, stating that management of the CGA must fall under the oversight of the Ministry of Justice. According to the determination, the board’s ‘reshaping’ is fairly standard, given it was shifted from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Justice, a move that took place in August’.

The CGA’s Aideen Shortt told iGaming Expert: “The transfer of ministerial responsibility from Finance to Justice is a natural progression as Curaçao’s regulatory framework matures. Having built the legal and operational foundations for the new regime, the CGA is now focused on supervision and monitoring – areas that naturally fall within the Justice portfolio.”

The shifting of the CGA’s supervision from the Finance to the Justice department will be welcomed by many, given the challenges that Curacao’s Finance Minister, Javier Silvania, has faced.

At the end of the last year, forensic investigator Luigi Faneyte filed a report that laid out allegations against Silvania of misconduct, corruption, fraud, embezzlement and money laundering related to the issuance of online gambling licenses.

One of the key allegations levelled against Silvania related to the process of the issuing of “provisional” online gambling licences, with allegations that several had been granted prior to the Lok being enacted, which led to criticism around their legitimacy.

Just last week, Quincy Girigorie, leader of the opposition party PAR, lambasted Silvania, claiming that his dispute with the head of the Tax Receiver’s Office, Alfonso de Jesús Trona, “strikes at the heart of Curaçao’s democratic integrity”.

This dispute escalated at the end of last month when an audio clip was leaked, which captured a spat between the two.

The clip, which has gone viral across Curacao, features the two power figures firing allegations of corruption against each other.

Following the leak, PAR leader Quincy Girigorie took to a press conference to express the seriousness of the situation as he emphasised that “for the first time in our history, a senior official has publicly stated that a Minister of Finance has committed criminal offences.”

Despite the political tensions, the CGA issued assurances that the process to appoint new members of the board is underway, and the implementation of the Lok remains on course and uninterrupted.

Shortt stated: “Supervision and governance within the CGA continue uninterrupted. The Authority remains fully functional and independent, continuing to implement and enforce Curaçao’s new regulatory framework under the LOK.

“Despite sensationalist headlines and fake-news articles, there is no delay or deviation in the rollout of the LOK, and no disruption to the CGA’s licensing or compliance programmes.”

The Ministry of Finance is headed up by Shalten Hato, who has sought to take a tougher approach to money laundering in the country, publicly emphasising that there has been an increase in prosecutions for the crime.

During a recent Parliamentary meeting, he outlined statistics that revealed that 26 individuals had been prosecuted for money laundering. Furthermore, he also detailed that money laundering cases linked to drug trafficking had risen last year – as he sought to showcase a tougher stance against illicit money.

Stop, collaborate and listen SBC Media has published the first part of its International Player Safety Index today with partner 1xBet making a call for communication, clarity and consistency. The report is the first part of a series, with this one interviewing operators and regulators in Western Europe. It found: Something’s gotta give: Perhaps the most…