Licensing and regulation: Can we get a licence?

NLGRB opened its 2026 licence renewal cycle with a materially stricter documentary regime than prior cycles. Operators must submit tax clearance certificates, good conduct certificates for directors and shareholders, audited financial statements, annual returns, and 2026 business plans covering corporate social responsibility and staff training. Operators introducing new games must submit game rules for review, and casinos carry additional obligations including registration as accountable persons with the Financial Intelligence Authority. These renewal conditions rest on the durable statutory basis of the Lotteries and Gaming Act, 2016 (Cap 334), but are themselves regulator-issued and of mixed durability, meaning they can be revised between renewal cycles without primary legislative change. The overall effect this cycle is a tightening of the compliance bar for maintaining licensed status.