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In January, Acting Gambling Authority CEO Moruntshi Kemorwale said reported problem gambling had declined from 5% in 2020 to 3.4% in 2025. It was a change he attributed in part to the regulator’s National Responsible Gambling Programme and nationwide education and outreach.

He said the Authority’s role was to protect the public while ensuring gambling benefited Botswana. Kemorwale added that it was working with police against illegal promoters who make misleading promises of wealth, and that its approach to licensed operators emphasised guidance and compliance alongside enforcement.

The dispute over the legal gambling age comes as the Gambling Authority steps up its warnings about illegal online betting.

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Navarro noted during Thursday’s hearing that she had not presided over Rashid’s original plea agreement and had previously expressed concern that the deal did not fully reflect the severity of his conduct.

At his 2021 sentencing, she described Rashid’s past behavior as “monstrous” and said his victims endured conditions resembling imprisonment.

Rashid began supervised release on July 14, 2023, and was scheduled to remain under federal monitoring until Sept. 17, 2026. The new 17‑month sentence will return him to federal custody, where he will serve the remainder of his term before supervision resumes.

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Ahmed Badawi, who chairs the House communications committee, said in May that the government would amend the anti-cybercrime law to name online betting explicitly. Life imprisonment was discussed for the gravest offences. No bill number or text has been published.

A separate private member’s bill was tabled by MP Martha Mahrous in January 2025. It proposed prison terms of two to five years and multi-million-Egyptian-pound fines for promoters, agents and payment facilitators. It has also gone nowhere.

Parliament rose on 22 July having passed 162 laws, none concerning betting. Egyptian news outlet Al-Watan reported that electronic betting was still among the committee’s files awaiting discussion on 17 August, listed separately from the cybercrime amendments. The House reconvenes on 1 October.