SportPesa eyes Uganda market at invitation of government

Everton's English striker Wayne Rooney (second left) dribbles the ball during their friendly match against Gor Mahia on July 13, 2013 at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam. PHOTO | COURTESY |

What you need to know:

  • Just like in Kenya, Uganda’s Parliament recently passed a bill of 35 per cent tax on betting profits, not on gross income, that is awaiting consent by President Yoweri Museveni.

SportPesa will soon launch in Uganda if talks between the Uganda government and the sports betting firm are concluded successfully.

Uganda's Minister for Youth and Children Affairs, Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi, has extended an invitation to SportPesa to go to Uganda for talks on how to set up their business in Kampala.

Kiyingi went to Dar es Saalam to watch Gor Mahia take on English Premier League side Everton in an international friendly match organised by Sportpesa last week to personally extend an invitation to SportPesa to venture into Uganda.

Just like in Kenya, Uganda’s Parliament recently passed a bill of 35 per cent tax on betting profits, not on gross income, that is awaiting consent by President Yoweri Museveni.

This she says is not to raise money for the Uganda government, but to demotivate people from going into irresponsible gambling and gaming. However, the tax proposal also seeks to offer incentives to betting companies that invest in Uganda.

“To me I take Sportpesa to be an investor and not really a business person. So we want them to come down to Uganda and together we look at the regulation further, ”she added.

“We are going to look at SportPesa in isolation because it is coming with a heavy weight of promoting football, investing in academies, investing in young people, giving them employment. It is beyond betting, it is beyond gaming.”

So we are looking at the other side of investment and then we shall make sure that we down and dialogue,” explained Kiyingi.

Kiyingi says if Sportpesa was to put the same amount of investment in football like in Kenya and Tanzania, then Uganda football will grow in leaps and bounds because what Uganda lacks now is adequate sponsors in sports.

“The talent is there, the morale is there, the demand is overwhelming but what is missing is the capital injection in football in general and branding.”