Born Wild

How to play Born Wild

The age proposal was the bill’s most contentious provision. Opposition MPs argued during the committee stage that Botswana should retain the existing minimum age of 21, but the bill passed with Clause 2 intact. The clause would replace references in the Act to “the age of 21” with “the age of 18”.

Botswana’s parliament published the measure as the Gambling (Amendment) Bill, 2026, Bill No. 15 of 2026.

Botswana’s existing gambling framework sets the legal gambling age at 21. The amendment bill would align that threshold with the country’s general age of majority, which is 18.

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“Looking back over the past two years, the regulation has achieved its primary objective: creating a safer and more transparent market. It has established common standards for all licensed operators, particularly around KYC, AML and responsible gaming, ensuring that customers receive a more consistent experience regardless of the platform they choose.”

Atucha praises the regulation and the regulators themselves for making entry into the market easy, as well as allowing them to be competitive against illegal operators. But the market hasn’t been without its challenges.

A 1% selective consumption tax (ISC) on the value of every online bet has been in force since 1 July 2025, after the original policy was scrapped from proposed regulations in July 2021.

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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.