What the Finance Act 2026 did and did not do
The Finance Bill 2026 carried two measures for punters: a 5% excise on every stake and the end of the reduced 12% rate for sports betting. The government revised the Bill before it passed, as the Daily News reported, and the excise on stakes was removed.
The 12% rate went, which put sports betting winnings on the same 15% as casino and other gaming.
The gaming tax is the one described on the Tanzania Revenue Authority's gaming tax page: a withholding on winnings, deducted by the licensed operator at payout and remitted to the TRA.
Licensed operators are the ones on the Gaming Board's sports betting list. Among the ranked brands that means 22Bet (Betwin Limited), 1xBet (Katavi Gaming Limited), BetWinner (Bellatrix Media Ltd) and 1win (Interactive Sports Entertainment Company Limited).
The shilling arithmetic of the Tanzania gaming tax on winnings
A TSh 20,000 stake at 3.00 returns TSh 60,000, of which TSh 40,000 is winnings. The Tanzania gaming tax on winnings takes 15% of that, TSh 6,000, so TSh 54,000 reaches the account. Under the old 12% rate the same slip paid TSh 55,200, a difference of TSh 1,200.
A 2.00 price at a licensed bookmaker now pays like 1.85 after the deduction, where it paid like 1.88 before July. On a season of weekend accas the three-point gap is small beside the price difference between bookmakers on the weekly board, which is where a Tanzanian punter recovers it.
A losing slip carries no tax, and the stake returns untaxed inside a winning payout.
What it changes for the offers
Welcome offers are calculated on deposits and cleared on stakes, so the tax touches them only when bonus winnings are paid out. 22Bet's 100% up to TSh 300,000 and BetWinner's 100% up to TSh 300,000 still clear 5 times on three-leg multibets at 1.40. 1xBet's 200% up to TSh 540,000 still asks for 8 turnovers at 2.10.
A punter who clears a rollover and withdraws TSh 100,000 of bonus winnings now receives TSh 85,000. That figure, not the headline percentage, is what the bonus is worth after July 2026.
Mobile money routes are unchanged: M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money and Halopesa deposits carry no new charge under the Act. Withdrawals return to the same number after the identity check, less the 15%.
Licensed against offshore after the change
An offshore brand without a Gaming Board licence deducts nothing, which makes its 2.00 pay 2.00, and offers no complaint route at the Board. Among the ranked brands Melbet, Paripesa and Linebet take Tanzanian customers under Curaçao or similar licences.
A punter who keeps large balances is better placed at a licensee, where a disputed payout has a desk to go to. A punter who stakes small sums for fun loses 15% of each win for that desk, and the price on the board decides whether it is worth it.
The Tanzania home page prints the licence beside each brand and the 15% in the tax section, corrected on 1 July 2026. The two questions below are the ones punters have asked most since.
Questions about the gaming tax
Was the excise on stakes introduced?
No. The Finance Bill 2026 proposed a 5% excise on every stake, and the government removed it before the Act passed, as the Daily News reported. The change that survived was the end of the 12% sports betting rate, which put sports on the 15% gaming tax.
Does the 15% apply to the stake or the win?
To the winnings. A TSh 20,000 stake that returns TSh 60,000 is taxed on the TSh 40,000 won. TSh 6,000 comes off and TSh 54,000 is paid, under section 34 of the Gaming Act as amended.