Gaming Commission seeks support for responsible gambling
Gaming Commission of Ghana has visited some stakeholders including officials of the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) in Tamale to seek their support and collaboration in helping promote responsible gambling in the country.
This followed its opening of a Regional Office in Tamale last week to oversee gaming activities within the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.
The Regional Office will work to clamp down on illegal and underage gaming as well as ensure that the requisite gaming revenue due government is earned and used for development.
The Commission seeks to monitor, supervise and ensure that all gaming operators operating online sports betting, slot machines or “jackpots”, casinos among others, are legally licensed and operating within the Gaming Act 2006, Act 721.
Mr Kobby Annan, Deputy Commissioner of Gaming Commission of Ghana, who spoke at a meeting with officials of ILGS in Tamale to inform them about the Commission’s operations in the Region, said there were illegal and underage gaming activities taking place in some parts of the north and the operators were unqualified and unlicensed.
Mr Annan said the Regional Office, therefore, would help regulate all gaming activities especially the underage gaming to ensure that children did not drop-out of school to engage in underage gaming.
He said officials of the Commission would collaborate with the police to frequently visit the three regions of the north to monitor and supervise gaming activities to apprehend people, who violated the law on gaming.
Mr Annan said under the section 26 of the Gaming Act 2006, Act 721, any child under 18 years, who was found gaming would be liable to a sentence of not less than two years, and also parents and operators found encouraging underage gaming were also liable to punishment under the law.
Mr Richard Kambootah, Deputy Director at ILGS, Tamale Campus commended the Commission for its efforts at fighting illegal and underage gaming in the north, assuring of ILGS’ collaboration with the Commission to promote responsible gaming.
Source: GNA