In Zimbabwe, the online betting industry is a tangible online enterprise. About 8% to 10% annual revenue growth was indicated in the preliminary data that the treasury listed in its 2026 Budget for the industry. The comparison pages for betting sites like bet365 newest welcome offer indicate how different brands are competing for online bets rather than an endorsement. What part can this activity play in supporting grassroots sport Zimbabwe? This article will focus on the funding gap, models from other countries and a viable solution.
The state of grassroots sports: a funding desert
The sports funding crisis is manifesting itself as poor facilities and unequal coaching and access. Unsafe pitches and unsafe equipment for use by young players, sharing equipment, and the failure to attend tournaments due to lack of travel and accommodation funding. The grounds of the community are in need of repairs and smaller associations don’t have the commercial attractiveness that allows for reliable sponsors.
The pressure is recognized by the Sport and Recreation Commission. In its 2024 annual report, funding and inadequate resources came out as its biggest constraint, due to delayed and partial disbursement of its government grant. It also cautioned against the lack of adequate, non-standard infrastructure hampering the development of sports. Corporate sponsorship is used to support selected teams, but tends to be short term, focused on popular sports, and subject to economic fluctuations.
In Zimbabwe, the Government has started promoting investments by corporates in the development of rural sports academies, youth programmes and public facilities. Voluntary incentives, however, won’t generate the stream required for coaching, equipment, safeguarding, women’s and disability sports and maintenance.
The online betting boom: an untapped economic engine?
Zimbabwe’s gambling sector is currently governed by the Lotteries and Gaming Act [Chapter 10:26], with bookmaking separately regulated under the Betting and Totalizator Control Act [Chapter 10:02]. The Lotteries and Gaming Board licenses operators, promotes responsible gambling and funds community programmes, though the Board is in the process of being transformed into a Gaming Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, following amendment principles approved by Cabinet in August 2024 to expand its enforcement powers and introduce anti-money laundering compliance requirements.
This tax policy was amended from 1 January 2026. The Finance Act No. 7 of 2025 introduced a new gaming operators tax of 20% for gross monthly takings and a withholding tax of 25% of gross winnings of punters. It is final in place of corporate income tax on that income. These receipts are made to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
That distinction matters. Sport comes into the fiscus as a general betting tax and faces competition from health, education, infrastructure and debt obligations. A sports development levy would ensure that a proportion is reserved for measurable outcomes. Zimbabwe’s social responsibility is through the Lotteries and Gaming Fund, and there is no current law to ensure that a set proportion of all online betting money goes to community sport.
Learning from abroad: How other Nations Fund Sport Through Betting
Gambling for public good is an old international practice but without adequate control it is impossible.
Case study 1: The UK’s betting levy and national lottery
Britain’s Horserace Betting Levy applies a tax of 10% of all profits earned by all bookmakers (profits that exceed a 10% threshold) and reinvests those funds into the sport of racing and veterinary science and development. It’s a simple concept: If an industry can make money from a sport, it helps the sport’s ecosystem.
The UK National Lottery offers a wider example. It has raised over £50 billion for charitable causes, from grassroots to elite sport since 1994. These are not models for Zimbabwe, they illustrate how ring-fenced revenues and independent distribution and published reporting can turn the gambling into a sustainable public asset.
Case study 2: The point of consumption (POC) tax
No, it is a point of consumption tax, meaning where the bettor is, and not where the operator is based. The UK taxes out-of-country operators when they operate services for UK customers, irrespective of where the operator is based. Other jurisdictions also levy wagering revenues based on bettors in their territory, such as New South Wales and Western Australia.
In Zimbabwe, this could solve the problem with residents who are using offshore platforms, but who have no real presence in the country. There’s the potential for legislation mandating registration, customer-location records and returns, along with payment-provider reporting and licensing penalties. A foreign website with Zimbabwean customers will need to contribute as well as a licensed local bookmaker.
A blueprint for Zimbabwe: creating a virtuous cycle
A minor, clearly-defined fraction of gaming-operator tax receipts could form the basis of a Sports Development Levy in Zimbabwe, not a huge, unwarranted levy after the 2026 hike. Parliament should detail the percentage, who is eligible and audit procedures. A companion POC regime would be used to capture qualifying offshore activity.
The Sport and Recreation Commission may oversee the distribution via a fund that is shielded from state, local and national associations and independent auditors from the Treasury. Grants should be based on uniform selection principles that include youth inclusion, provincial distribution, gender representation, accessibility for those with disabilities, and genuine delivery of facilities. All awards and results must be reported in the annual public reports.
Measures are essential. Part of the proceeds should go to responsible-gambling education, treatment and research. Industry resistance, low compliance rates, political interference and deflection are threats. Transparent procurement, digital tracking, and parliamentary oversight and sanctions against misuse are as key as the levy itself.
Conclusion: A shared responsibility for a sporting future
Online betting revenue is not a magic bullet for Zimbabwe’s shortcomings in sport, but it could make a regular contribution, provided it can be modernly regulated, collected and spent. The proposal must be a partnership, not punishment: sport operators gain social legitimacy and at the same time contribute to the reconstruction of the sporting system they benefit from.
A national conversation involving stakeholders such as the Sport and Recreation Commission, betting companies, athletes and communities and public health experts is needed in Zimbabwe. A believable levy, point-of-consumption regulations and well-defined distribution channels could make part of a burgeoning commercial market pitches, coaches, equipment and opportunity for young Zimbabweans.
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