What the Finance Act changed on 1 January
The 10% withholding on winnings ran through 2025. The Finance Act for 2026 raised it to 25% from 1 January, as The Herald reported when the deduction took effect. SiGMA's summary of the 2026 measures lists the bookmakers' tax rising from 3% to 20% of gross takings alongside it.
The deduction is made by bookmakers licensed through the Lotteries and Gaming Board, whose operator locator lists them. Bezbets and the other local brands set out the deduction in their betting terms.
iGaming Business reported in the months after the change that the withholding fell hardest on lower-income players, who stake and withdraw small sums often.
The arithmetic of Zimbabwe betting tax 2026
A US$10 stake at 3.00 returns US$30, of which US$20 is winnings. Zimbabwe betting tax 2026 takes 25% of that, US$5, so US$25 reaches the account where US$28 reached it in 2025. In ZiG the figures scale the same way, and the deduction is made in the currency of the account.
A 2.00 price at a licensed bookmaker pays like 1.75 after the deduction, the lowest effective return among the markets on this site. A punter comparing a local licensee with an offshore brand on the same match sees that gap before anything else.
A losing slip carries nothing, and the stake returns untaxed inside a winning payout.
Licensed against offshore under the new rate
The ranked brands on the Zimbabwe home page are offshore sportsbooks that publish no Zimbabwean bonus, take ZiG or USD deposits through EcoCash and cards where their cashiers allow, and deduct nothing. They also sit outside the Lotteries and Gaming Board's complaint route.
A local licensee deducts the 25%, pays to the same EcoCash or bank line the deposit came from, and answers to the Board. The choice is between a quarter off every win with a regulator behind the account, and the full win with none.
The deposit stays the punter's in either case, and the weekly board on the Zimbabwe home page shows the price gap between the two groups before any deduction.
What changed on the Zimbabwe home page
The tax section prints the 25% and the 20% with the 1 January date. The ranking prints the offshore position beside each brand, and the EcoCash page works the deduction through on a wallet withdrawal. The local bookmakers from the Board's locator are listed for checking without links.
A Zimbabwean punter who stakes in USD at a licensee and withdraws monthly sees one 25% line per payout; one who stakes small ZiG sums weekly sees it on every win. The rate is the same, and the frequency of withdrawals is the only lever a punter holds.
The two questions below are the ones readers have asked most since the rate changed.
Questions about the 2026 rate
Is the 25% on the win or the whole payout?
On gross winnings as the Finance Act defines them, deducted by the licensed bookmaker before the payout reaches the account and remitted to ZIMRA. The bookmaker's terms, Bezbets among them, set out how the deduction is shown on the slip.
Does it apply in USD and ZiG alike?
Yes. The rate is the same whichever currency the account runs in, and the bookmaker deducts it in the currency of the payout. The ranked offshore brands publish no Zimbabwean offer and deduct nothing, with no Board behind the account.