By Sharon Chimenya
Masvingo, (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe’s Lotteries and Gaming Board (LGB) has said it had this year issued over 530 licences to operators running sports betting, lotteries and casino businesses.
The board is responsible for licensing and regulating the gaming industry in the country. In an interview, LGB’s secretary, Dr Misheck Chingozha said the Board was alive to social ills associated with the industry, such as illicit drug taking and peddling, and would do everything in its powers to clamp down on the vices.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the Board’s strategic planning workshop here.
“We are guided by the philosophy of the gambling density where we monitor the number of entities or gaming activities in any geographical space so that we don’t end up exposing our general citizenry to gambling harm by availing unnecessary access to the gaming activities,” he said.
“Coming into 2024 we had targeted the issuance of about 535 licenses but by the close of 12 months, issued out 539 which is not really scary and its within what we had actually targeted.” Dr Chingozha said the board is clamping down on unregistered entities operating illegally, to ensure compliance in the industry.
“In view of the advent of technology, there is really some proliferation of some illegal activities. Some of which we have accounted for particularly in Gweru as well as in Harare and the perpetrators were arraigned before the courts and their equipment confiscated by our compliance team. As an entity, we have put the right foot down to deal with any form of illegality,” he said.
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Chido Sanyatwe, speaking at the workshop, urged the board to come up with strategies to enhance compliance within the gaming industry’s governing regulatory framework.
She said the board must conduct research into the reasons for the public’s growing interest in the gaming industry.
“The strategies must ensure strict adherence and compliance by all operators in the industry. I urge the board to critically analyse and understand the meaning of the growing appetite to invest in the gaming industry by both foreign and local investors that is currently prevailing.
This must be controlled and balanced with the growth of revenue collection, protection from gambling harm and social responsibility. It is now common cause that strategies that enhance responsible gaming practices and protection of players remain top of this workshop agenda,” she said.
“I want to reiterate that such policies and strategies should not just be window-dressing policies to tick your compliance boxes but reflect commitment to the protection of players. Intensify the control of operator density to limit overcrowding of gambling services to the detriment of other social and economic obligations of the citizens.”
She reminded the board that drug and substance abuse is closely related to gambling hence the strategies being crafted must reflect on how they are going to mitigate this risk.
She said the board needs to continuously engage and intensify its efforts to curb non-compliance and illicit business practices such as money laundering and financing of terrorism which is prevalent in financial institutions and industries that handle substantial sums of money like the gaming industry.
New Ziana
