It’s no secret that Ugandans love to gamble, with a significant proportion of the population engaged in the activity on a regular basis. However, things haven’t been to easy recently for gambling aficionados in the country.
Just a few days ago, the Ugandan government made the highly-controversial decision to ban all sports betting outright, meaning that no new licenses will be issued to domestic sports betting companies. However, thanks to recent technological developments, people are accessing various forms of gambling entertainment online.
If you’re left wondering what the current state of play is with gambling in Uganda, especially after the recent government ban on sports betting, read on to find out.
Land-Based Casinos are Still Thriving
In the capital region at least, it seems that gambling activities are going on just as they always have. The newly-opened Empire Casino in Kampala is a monument to modern gaming that puts plenty of establishments on the Las Vegas Strip to shame. The casino is also utilizing technology to attract gamers, with thousands of state-of-the-art video poker and touchscreen slot reels, as well as superfast WiFi throughout the building.
Beyond this, Kampala still remains a hotspot for various forms of gambling entertainment, with no less than three other casinos within the city center. These are the Mayfair Casino, Simba’s Casino and, of course, the Caesar’s Palace Casino.
Increased Connectivity Creates New Opportunities
Perhaps even more significant is how technological progress has enabled new forms of gambling for Ugandans. The connectivity of the country is increasing rapidly, with the number of people with constant internet access rising almost tenfold within the past decade. Smartphones are also proliferating, to the point where within the next few years, a majority of Ugandans will own smartphones. As such, people are able to access leading gaming platforms from across the world, taking advantage of some incredible promotions and allowing them to play the very best slots, card games and table games online via their mobile phones. This will undoubtedly mean that traditional land-based casinos will have to work harder to compete with global gaming platforms in the future.
International Platforms Remain Accessible
While the new laws place limits on domestic gambling, international gambling platforms remain as freely accessible as ever via the internet. While internet censorship in Uganda is an ongoing issue, popular global casino platforms such as slot-machines.ca remain completely accessible to Ugandans who wish to play games such as slots, roulette and blackjack.
Close to 19 million Ugandans now regularly access the internet and the majority of traffic is international, so it is perhaps unsurprising that foreign-based gaming platforms are making major strides into the Ugandan market. As inter-connectivity and internationalization of various forms of the Uganda economy, particularly the entertainment sector, continue to increase, it is likely that this trend will grow significantly over the course of the next few years.
It’s widely reported on sites such as herald.co.zw that Ugandans love to gamble. It seems clear that this popular pastime is unlikely to recede in the face of current legislative developments, rather than the activity and revenue from it will increasingly move abroad.
