Nationwide Pitsos on Gambling Start

Monkagedi Gaothobogwe | Thursday April 4, 2019 09:36

 

In the first of the Pitso series held at the GICC this week, the Gambling Authority CEO, Thuli Johnson announced that his agency ‘s role in the new national transformation agenda is to effectively facilitate the growth of the gaming industry, adding that his organization exists to transform the economy through safe gaming.

Mr. Johnson further said the organization had been granted approval by the Minister of Investment, Trade, and Industry to issue national lottery license, casino licenses in Maun, Kasane, Palapye and Gaborone, as well as sports betting and bingo. 

Johnson further announced that in the near future they look to develop local grown i-gaming industry, locally grown horse race industry, manufacturing value chain, as well as to support the development of a diversified gambling industry entrepreneurship in the country. 

According to Johnson, the gambling industry globally is a 110 billion USD industry and that Botswana could claim a slice of the cake in this industry. The Authority is currently engaged in a study to establish the prevalence of problem gambling in Botswana. Internationally, the figure is pegged at around five percent of gamblers. 

Johnson further challenged Batswana to come up with homegrown gaming ideas that would ensure that the bulk of the money realized in the industry remains in the country as opposed to when relying on franchised solutions. 

He said as a way of achieving that dream, his organization has partnered with the Botswana Innovation hub to stimulate interest among local developers to venture into i-gaming development initiatives. The Authority is also in contacts with the Botswana Bureau of Standards in developing and setting standards for the local gaming industry. Two years back, Gambling Authority entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Competition Authority to deal with issues of mutual interest and concern for the two organisations. 

The gambling authority opened its doors in 2016 and was established by an act of parliament to replace the now-defunct Casino control Board. 

According to Johnson, their mandate is driven by Vision 2036’s target of transforming Botswana into a high-income economy in 20 years from now, adding that this means all industries and individuals must refocus and transform what needs to be transformed in order to move the country forward. 

At the Pitso the public and stakeholders also learned about how the various licenses for gaming are issued, as well as the regulations governing the industry, as well as legal consequences of engaging in unlawful gaming activities. 

The event was well attended, with many young people showing interest in understanding how the various gambling licenses operate. 

Generally, the public welcomed the educational pitso and wished more of these could be shared with them. 

Various Gambling Authority’s representatives were at hand to share with the public on various topics of interest concerning the gaming industry.