Uganda casino association seeks alternative to 15% winnings tax
Regulation3 min read
Uganda’s Gaming Operators Association has asked the government to keep land-based casinos under the existing 30% gross gaming revenue tax rather than apply the 15% withholding tax on players’ winnings. The association says casino transactions make the tax difficult to calculate accurately; the Private Sector Foundation Uganda will assess the effects on jobs, businesses and household incomes for an advocacy paper.
Uganda’s Gaming Operators Association has asked the government to keep land-based casinos under the existing 30% gross gaming revenue tax rather than apply a 15% withholding tax on players’ winnings. The association says physical casinos cannot calculate the withholding tax accurately.
Uganda’s withholding tax has applied since 1 July under changes to income tax law. The Uganda Revenue Authority updated its guidance on 2 November. For table games, operators must deduct chips purchased from chips cashed out for each player on each visit. The slots calculation takes cash-in off cash-out for each visit.
Receipts must show the tax, and operators must post notices for players. Operators must also preserve records for five years and file returns every month with daily details for each player.
Online accounts make individual transactions easier to trace, the association says, whereas casino patrons can repeatedly purchase and exchange chips and switch games during a visit. Its example describes a player buying UGX1 million in chips and cashing out UGX700,000. That player has no taxable winnings, having lost UGX300,000.
Meeting the requirements would mean spending on player identification, transaction monitoring, reconciliation and more staff, according to UGOA. Those costs could reduce tax receipts and threaten more than 2,500 casino jobs. The risks could grow if players move to unlicensed operators.
Association chairman Robert Kabonero said licensed operators were not opposed to taxation. The association says the existing gross gaming revenue tax, with stronger oversight and enforcement, would provide a more reliable means of collecting revenue. Operators calculate gross gaming revenue by subtracting winnings from total wagers.
The association raised its concerns after meeting Private Sector Foundation Uganda, whose policy department will assess the tax’s effects on jobs, businesses and household incomes. The assessment will inform an advocacy paper.
Operators raised the same concerns at an April hearing before Parliament’s finance committee. Kabonero told lawmakers that simultaneous play across games and the movement of cash made collection practically impossible. Committee vice-chairperson Moses Aleper said online gaming was easier to trace than land-based casinos.
Parliament raised gaming tax to 30% in 2023. The finance committee proposed removing the 15% withholding tax on gaming winnings, citing difficulties identifying a taxing point in roulette, poker and slots. The association says the collection problems date back to 1994.
The new measure’s projected revenue is about UGX65bn for the 2026–27 financial year, according to the association. It wants a breakdown covering land-based casinos, online gaming and sports betting. Its proposals for addressing tax-avoidance concerns include distinct licences and financial records for online and physical casinos. It also recommends independent audits, clearer classifications of transactions and penalties for deliberate misclassification. It wants the government to set up a joint technical working group to develop a practical tax-collection system.