UGANDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Timothy Kajja, Nanyonjo Janet Pheobe and Jolly Kibalama, Engoru, Mutebi Advocates
induce individuals or teams to underperform or with - draw from a sporting event. Referees, umpires, match adjudicators, and other sports officials are recognised as key targets for those seeking to manipulate sports outcomes. To address this vulnerability, the Sports Act makes it an offence for any sports official to deliberately misapply the rules of a sport in exchange for financial or other benefits. In line with global best practices, the Sports Act also acknowledges the potential involvement of play - ground staff, venue owners, curators, and individuals responsible for maintaining playing surfaces. Prepar - ing a playing field in a manner intended to influence a sports result is similarly prohibited, as these actions are considered harmful to fair competition. The laws against match fixing and manipulation are being reasonably observed in Uganda. In 2024, the Federation of Uganda Football Associations imposed bans on 12 individuals for involvement in match manipulation. The sanctions ranged from lifetime bans to ten‑year, five‑year, three‑year, and one‑year penal - ties, affecting referees, players, and technical staff. 1.3 Betting-Related Offences Betting activities are legally permissible in Uganda. Individuals aged 25 and above may place bets with licensed betting operators. These licensed companies may operate through physical premises, online plat - forms, or a combination of both. The Lotteries and Gaming Act, Cap 334 (the Gaming Act), is the primary law governing sports betting and casino activities in Uganda. It establishes the National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board and grants it the authority to regulate the betting industry. The Gaming Act also outlines the licensing framework and categories, sets out the gaming tax, establishes the National Electronic Monitoring System for moni - toring gaming activities, and prescribes various bet - ting‑related offences. Offences under the Gaming Act include accept - ing bets from minors, conducting gaming activities (physically or online) without a licence, promoting
unlicensed gaming operations, forging lottery tickets, and committing tax‑related violations, among others. The Gaming Act is supplemented by the Sports Act, which prohibits match officials, referees, coaches, athletes, owners of sports clubs, and members or employees of sports bodies (including federations) from participating in any betting activity. This prohibi - tion is intended to protect sports from manipulation linked to betting. Statistics indicate that over 90% of sports manipula - tion in Ugandan football is related to betting. In 2023, for example, the Federation of Uganda Football Asso - ciations (FUFA) banned referee George Nkurunziza for ten years due to betting‑related match‑fixing. The level of information sharing between sports bod - ies and stakeholders on betting‑related issues remains low. Nevertheless, there are notable incidents, such as the 2021 arrest of Ugandan national Ronald Mugisha in neighbouring Kenya, following a tip‑off from a local betting firm. Reports indicated that he was part of a group involved in using players to fix local Premier League matches for betting purposes. 1.4 Disciplinary Framework The disciplinary framework for athletes involved in doping, integrity, and betting offences in Uganda generally operates across three tiers. The first tier is the internal club-level disciplinary system, followed by disciplinary processes administered by the relevant sports federation. These two tiers are sport‑specific. The third tier is the external criminal justice system, which applies broadly and is not limited to sports. At the club level, disciplinary action is primarily gov - erned by the law of contract. It is standard practice for clubs to include provisions or clauses in player contracts prohibiting betting, sports manipulation, or breaches of the anti‑doping code. A breach of these provisions may attract disciplinary sanctions, includ - ing unilateral termination or suspension of the player’s contract with just cause. However, due to the wider implications and legal obli - gations surrounding these types of offences, they are often not handled at the club level but referred to the
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