Uganda has launched a nationwide crackdown on illegal gambling operations in advance of the government introducing new laws to manage the sector.

Late last week, inspection teams led by Uganda’s Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board began fanning out across the country, targeting gambling businesses deemed to be operating either without formal approval or failing to comply with the terms of their license.

The total number of targeted businesses is unknown, but New Vision reported that 28 unlicensed gaming and betting shops had been closed in the country’s capital Kampala. The closed shops were guilty of a variety of infractions, including lack of proper licensing, operating too close to schools or being smaller than the required minimum size of 30-square-meters.

Prior to unleashing the inspectors, Regulatory Board CEO Edgar Agaba held a media conference (see video below) at which he warned that he’d directed the nation’s telecom watchdogs to shut down an estimated 500 online betting sites currently serving Ugandan punters without the government’s permission.