Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) is preparing to strengthen its betting tax framework through proposed amendments in the 2027 national budget, with measures targeting online betting taxation, mobile lotteries and the collection of gaming levies.
Announced by Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane and further detailed by the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) on November 6, the proposals seek to clarify the tax treatment of online betting revenue and improve compliance across the gaming sector.
The government also plans to introduce inspection fees for betting premises and lottery operations, alongside stricter requirements for agents responsible for collecting betting levies. Under the proposed measures, revenue from online betting will continue to fall under Zambia’s Betting Levy framework rather than income tax, reinforcing the system introduced in January 2026.
The existing 5% levy on deposits and withdrawals from customer betting accounts will remain unchanged. Operators will also be required to file monthly returns and remit the applicable payments within ten days after the end of each month. The proposals further seek to extend the levy to mobile phone lotteries and other gaming activities that currently fall outside the account-based system.
However, the government has yet to provide details on how these transactions would be assessed and how the levy would be collected. The amendments also address the responsibilities of agents appointed to collect betting levies. Under the proposed rules, agents would be required to remit withheld levy payments within a specified period. Failure to meet the deadline could attract penalties of 10,000 penalty units for each day, or part of a day, that payment remains outstanding.
The measures are intended to strengthen revenue collection and address gaps in the existing legislation, particularly for gaming products that rely on airtime deductions rather than conventional betting accounts. The proposed amendments come after a period of uncertainty in Zambia’s betting industry following the introduction of a 10% excise duty on betting stakes in 2025.
The measure prompted legal challenges involving operators such as Betway and betPawa, while several companies suspended or reduced their operations amid uncertainty over the tax. The government subsequently reduced the duty to zero at the beginning of 2026, allowing Betway, BetLion, now operating as Bandabets, and betPawa to resume their services.
The 2027 budget proposals now focus on refining the Betting Levy framework as Zambia seeks to broaden its tax coverage, improve oversight and establish clearer compliance requirements for online betting and other gaming operators.
