President Yoweri Museveni has ordered authorities to stop issuing and renewing licences to betting firms in a bid to crack down on gambling, the finance minister said Monday.
"The directive was received on the matter and it is going to be implemented," the minister David Bahati told AFP.

Speaking to the  Daily Monitor, Bahati said Museveni had ordered that "from now onwards, no new companies are going to be licensed.  Those which are already registered, no renewal of licences when they expire."

Gambling, especially in sport, has become a phenomenon across East Africa, driven by the ubiquity of satellite and digital television, with smartphones that enable online and app-based gambling.

In just a few years, betting shops have emerged widely in cities, towns and villages across Uganda,

Patrick Lubaale, another sports betting official at Galz Betting in downtown Kampala, said thousands of people depended upon the industry.

"If the president is complaining about the negative effects on young people, we have already been sensitising the public about the irresponsible betting and people are aware about this, but this should not be reason to ban the trade," he said.