By Mulengera Reporters
In his 50s, a Chinese businessman going by the name Mr. Lin was on Tuesday sentenced to a jail term of one year or payment of Shs800,000 as a fine for illegally operating betting and gaming business in the Eastern Ugandan City of Soroti (Opian Cell) without the mandatory license from the Lottery & Gaming Board of Uganda. He operated during the 2023-2025 period.
The law prescribes a maximum fine of Shs900,000 but Her Worship Gladys Kamasanyu, the Magistrate, who had been trying the offence since January, opted for Shs800,000 which Mr. Lin had to pay up or in the alternative choose the custodial sentence of one-year jail term.
Mr. Lin, whose loss of weight in the preceding five months the Magistrate joked about, had been on remand in Luzira since that time (January 2026).
The Magistrate granted the forfeiture order whereby the Lottery & Gaming Board was authorized to destroy/deal with the three fish table machines, the 90 Chinese coin-slotting machines and the other gaming equipment seized from Mr. Lin’s business premises during his arrest, as opposed to the same being returned to the convict.
The defense lawyer Andrew Daniel Lubogo had implored Court to return the gaming equipment to his client because they belonged to Mr. Kin Lee Zee, his close friend, who left them under his care in 2023 when he left Uganda and returned home in China.
Lubogo’s argument was that granting the forfeiture order, as was sought by state prosecutor Judith Nyamwiza, would amount to punishing an innocent 3rd party who wasn’t part of the proceedings at Kamasanyu’s Utilities, Standards and Wildlife Court.
As he left the Court premises, Lubogo (after paying the Shs800,000 for his client to regain freedom) told media reporters present that he intended to appeal to the High Court against the forfeiture order part of the sentencing.
Her Worship Kamasanyu revealed that she avoided the custodial sentencing (whereby the convict had to only serve the one-year jail term upon failing to raise the fine money) because Mr. Lin was a first time offender who demonstrated remorse throughout the trial.
Otherwise, the state had asked for the maximum sentence with the aggravating factors being; such offences being rampant especially in upcountry towns where the lottery and gaming board is yet to have adequate enforcement presence.
The other factors included the GoU being deprived of revenue as such operators can’t be taxed and the same government’s inability to adequately protect the country’s youths against exploitation and mental health-related consequences.
It was also submitted that unlicensed operations of the gaming business undermine those doing legitimate business after getting licensed, hence breeding unfair competition.
That the offence also facilitates other offences like money laundering due to the government’s inability to effectively monitor the same. Minors can easily be exposed to manipulation and exploitation because of the government’s inability to effectively monitor and regulate such unlicensed operators. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
