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Speaking at the 2026 South East Region Staff Excellence Awards in Gaborone, Kemorwale said unlicensed platforms were diverting an estimated P850m ($63.2 million) from Botswana’s economy each year and exposing children and teenagers to unregulated gambling.
He described the rapid growth of the illegal online market as one of the sector’s most serious challenges.
The bill would amend the Gambling Authority Act to align it more closely with the Financial Intelligence Act and Financial Action Task Force standards. Its memorandum says the changes are intended to strengthen anti-money laundering requirements and reduce financial crime risks.
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“We have tried hard to protect all our sites and the colleagues who work in them, but the combined impact of higher employer National Insurance contributions, wage inflation, increases in gambling taxes and wider economic uncertainty has left us with no choice,” said Chief Executive Jo Whittaker in a statement to iGB at the time the closures were announced.
Evoke also closed 200 of its William Hill stores in April of this year for the same reason.
Stella David, CEO of Entain, has also warned against the potential rise of MGD to Entain’s operations, forecasting a increamse of £100 million in operational costs, if the policy were to go through.
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Entain emphasised offshore operators do not employ the same player protection measures and anti-money laundering standards that licensed companies must.
The company also highlighted its own research that suggests over 80% of consumers cannot “confidently distinguish” licensed operators from unlicensed ones.
Stella David, Entain’s CEO, called for the government to move ahead with the ban immediately, arguing clubs were already aware of the planned changes.
