Uganda’s gambling operators are living on borrowed time after the government declared it would stop issuing new gambling licenses and decline to renew existing licenses.

On Monday, Ugandan media quoted finance minister David Bahati announcing that the government would issue no new gambling licenses and that licenses already issued to gambling operators would not be renewed once they expire.

Bahati, who said he was acting on a directive from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, said the government’s new anti-gambling view was a response to public concerns over the spread of gambling, particularly among Ugandan youth.

Bahati delivered the government’s message at a religious conference and specifically mentioned the concerns of religious leaders in justifying the new policy. Bahati joked that the leaders in attendance should praise God because their prayers had been answered.