Botswana prepares casino licence push for Maun and Kasane as gaming strategy aligns with tourism growth

Botswana’s Gambling Authority is moving toward opening casino licence opportunities in Maun and Kasane, with public statements from the regulator linking the two locations to tourism-led gaming expansion and positioning regulated casino activity as part of broader destination development in key visitor hubs.

The clearest public signal is that the Gambling Authority sees both Maun and Kasane as viable casino markets and has been preparing licensing steps rather than treating the idea as speculative. In an official Botswana government report from October 2022, then acting chief executive Peter Kesitilwe said requests for applications for casino licences had been completed and were ready for issuance in Gaborone, Maun, Kasane and Palapye. He added that Maun could sustain at least one casino, while Kasane’s position near the borders with Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe gave it strong tourism potential.

That policy direction did not disappear. In a later Botswana government report carried by DailyNews, the regulator again indicated that Maun and Kasane remained part of its casino licensing plans, with officials encouraging citizen participation and saying casino licences were expected to be re-issued. The same report noted that applicants were already being directed toward gambling licence opportunities in Maun and Kasane, showing that the two towns have remained inside the Authority’s live market-expansion thinking.

What has become stronger in 2026 is the tourism framing around that plan. At the Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana conference in Maun on April 23, Gambling Authority CEO Moruntshi Kemorwale said gambling and hospitality are increasingly interconnected through casino operations linked to hotels and tourism developments across Botswana. He told delegates that a regulated gambling sector can support tourism growth, strengthen investor confidence and improve oversight in entertainment-related businesses.

That message fits long-standing official reasoning around Maun and Kasane specifically. Botswana government reporting has previously stated that casino outlets in the two centres were intended to support tourism resorts, and officials have repeatedly described both areas as natural candidates for gambling activity because of their lodge infrastructure and international visitor flows. In other words, the current plan is not a sudden policy shift but part of a longer effort to connect regulated gaming with the country’s tourism economy.

At the same time, there is an important accuracy point: I did not find a fresh official April 2026 notice showing that the application window has already formally opened. What the public record currently supports is that the Gambling Authority is preparing or moving toward casino licence applications for Maun and Kasane, while continuing to present those markets as priority tourism zones for regulated gaming growth.

For Botswana’s market, that distinction still matters. If the Authority follows through with a formal request-for-applications process, Maun and Kasane would likely become two of the clearest examples of the country using casino licensing not just for gambling-sector expansion, but as a tourism and investment tool targeted at high-traffic hospitality corridors.