By: Dwight Links
The Lotteries Board of Namibia (LBN), through the Ministry of Environment, Forestry & Tourism (MEFT), recently indicated that the State Lottery still has a way to go before it can be implemented in Namibia.
According to LBN chief executive officer Johannes Shimaneni, the state aims to have a different approach to a state lottery.
“We aim to do things a bit different – since this is a game of chance whereby you can win money and so on – but we want to expand that. This has to include the social development agenda. This is why you see it being a high priority item,” Shimaneni explained.
The introduction of the State Lottery has been on the national agenda with no clarity provided on how this project will be launched. Examples of state lotteries in the SADC region include those in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Botswana being in the last phase of launching its own after a successful bidder was chosen.
Shimaneni noted that there is a cost to society when introducing a project like a State Lottery, but he quickly identified the positives from this particular mechanism as it will be used to generate revenue which will in turn fund ‘good causes’ in the country.
The NDP 6 policy document outlines that the State Lottery is a national priority with the current situational analysis to be improved upon.
“The gaming industry generated revenue of about N$32 million in 2024/25, compared to N$9.3 million in 2022/2023 and is projected to grow by 8.1 percent by 2030. Additionally, about 4 140 jobs were recorded in 2020/2021,” the NDP 6 reads.
As a result, the plan is for the State Lottery to actively contribute towards these numbers.
“The establishment of the State Lottery alone is projected to generate over N$100 million in
revenue by 2030 and to contribute significantly to the GDP of the country,” the policy indicates.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
The ongoing public stakeholder engagement that has traversed the whole country to date – with the next round expected in the Omaheke Region today – is about proposed amendments sought from the industry stakeholders in both gambling and those conducting businesses under the lottery legislation.
According to Shimaneni, the gambling act regulates the casinos and gambling houses, and the lottery act regulates the sector conducting competitions and lotteries, but that the main lottery is set to be the proposed State Lottery.
Other amendments also address the various registration processes to be introduced once engagements end. This means that fee structures have changed and that the process to participate in or host a competition would be clarified under the new amendments.
Moreover, other smaller, privately-run lotteries have to be regulated under the lotteries act as well.
“One of them would be the exempted lotteries, which are non-prize-based competitions. The idea of regulating those ones is more for controlling, so that whatever monies or items are won do not violate the rights of ordinary citizens or participants,” Shimaneni explained.
The LBN’s explanation on the private lotteries is that their ideas do not stem from holding an interest in running an activity with a large guarantee as the state option does.
“And these could be a private club who wishes to raise money for one or other reason, and then there are the benevolent societies or NGOs who would also like to raise money for their own reasons,” Shimaneni outlined.
Promotional lotteries are also under the magnifying glass, as they are usually run by large corporations and businesses during certain times of the year.
Responding to questions on whether the companies running competitions will also be liable under the new regulatory changes, the LBN noted that there are also plans for these competitions to be subjected to new registration requirements.
“These can be large cash prizes, high-value items like cars or prizes of a significant cash value, which are currently regulated by the Lotteries Board,” clarified Shimaneni.
Sports pools are also regulated by the LBN, which shares a similar definition with the State Lottery in that it is identified as a game of chance.
Shimaneni indicated that Sport Betting is regulated under the gambling regulations, namely the Gaming & Entertainment Act 13 of 2018.
In the Lotteries Act 13 of 2017, these are defined as “exempt entertainment lottery,” meaning a lottery conducted for members of a benevolent society established and conducted for purposes not connected with lotteries, gambling or betting.
This is to be considered different from the “exempt entertainment” which pertains to a bazaar, sale, dinner, dance, sporting event or other entertainment of a similar character if there are no cash prizes.
The whole engagement process is being conducted from 24 March to 9 April 2026 by MEFT nationwide, with public consultations across all 14 regions on proposed amendments to the Gambling & Lotteries Regulations.
