Uganda’s NLGRB seizes illegal fish tables after boda boda interception

Uganda’s gambling regulator has carried out another enforcement action against illegal gaming machines after officers intercepted a boda boda rider transporting an unauthorised device and later found nine additional fish tables at a workshop.

Uganda’s National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board has seized ten suspected illegal gaming machines in a new enforcement operation carried out on May 8. According to the case details, NLGRB officers first intercepted a boda boda rider who was transporting an unauthorised gaming machine, before tracing the lead to a workshop where nine more fish tables were found.

The operation points to a growing enforcement focus on the supply chain behind illegal gambling equipment, not only on retail premises where machines are used by players. Fish tables and similar electronic gaming devices can be difficult to monitor when they are imported in parts, repaired in informal workshops or moved between small businesses before being installed in unlicensed venues.

The latest seizure fits into the regulator’s wider “Operation Mashine Haramu” campaign, a nationwide crackdown targeting illegal gaming operators, manufacturers and suppliers. The NLGRB has previously said the operation is intelligence-led, community-informed and designed to eliminate unlicensed gaming machines from Ugandan communities.

The scale of the issue is significant. According to The Independent, more than 7,000 illegal gaming machines worth Shs8.8 billion have been seized across Uganda over the past five years, including slot machines, fish tables, television sets and assorted spare parts. The same report said 6,303 confiscated machines valued at more than Shs6.2 billion had already been destroyed.

Ugandan officials have repeatedly warned that illegal machines create risks for both players and the regulated industry. NLGRB communication officer Jackline Kamakune told The Independent that unregulated devices lack oversight, meaning game outcomes can be manipulated, payouts may not be honoured and player data may be exposed. She also warned that such machines can contribute to financial crime because they operate outside the legal framework.

The NLGRB’s mandate is to regulate and supervise Uganda’s lotteries, gaming and betting sector while protecting the public from the adverse effects of gaming. The regulator has also urged illegal operators and machine suppliers to regularise their activities and has asked members of the public to continue reporting suspicious gaming operations.

For Uganda’s gambling market, the May 8 operation shows that enforcement is moving deeper into the distribution and maintenance network for illegal machines. If the regulator can keep targeting workshops, transport routes and suppliers, it may reduce the speed at which confiscated machines are replaced in communities. The challenge will be sustaining that pressure while ensuring licensed operators remain the only visible and trusted channel for gaming activity.