The Rwandan government ultimately decided to allow casino operators and other necessary activities to resume operations in a communiqué meeting led by President Paul Kagame on October 27, 2020.
The cabinet adopted the previous meeting’s resolution. It is clear that the government ban on online gambling has been a difficult year for operators in Rwanda, unlike in other other African countries where iGaming betting and gambling is not prohibited.
As the first African nation to implement a comprehensive lockdown,
Rwanda welcomes casino operators and other critical commercial activity. So, after completing COVID-19 preventative steps, the government has created certain rules for gambling businesses.
Moreover, the Ministry of Trade and Industry will publish additional instructions in due course. However, the administration emphasized in the communiqué meeting that all measures would be reassessed after 15 days based on health assessments. However, as previously stated, internet gambling is unregulated and hence prohibited in Rwanda. However, the Rwandan government has recently introduced a Bill to legalize internet gambling, but it has been greeted with obstacles.
Since the virus surfaced in the nation, business was shut down for many months to restrict the virus’ spread. As previously stated,
internet gambling is not regulated nor permitted in Rwanda. The biggest losers are casinos and sportsbooks. As a result of this crisis, the government has pledged to incorporate technology into critical government sectors, particularly those that generate substantial revenue. The Rwanda gaming industry is no exception, having contributed to the Rwandan economy from 2008 to 2012 with cumulative gross sales of Rwf37 billion ($61 million), payout of 50.6 million, gross gaming revenue of $10.5 million collected b (PAYE and NSSF).
The industry grows annually. It is believed that once iGaming gambling and betting is legalized, the Rwandan gaming and gambling business would expand, attracting more international investment than the present operators, such as Africa Bet and Premier Bet.