SYDNEY SAIZE IN MUTARE
Home Affairs minister, Kazembe Kazembe, has implored the Lotteries and Gaming Board to investigate the unsanctioned online betting now rampant in the sector.
Speaking at a recent Lotteries and Gaming Board strategic planning workshop in Mutare, Kazembe said: “I am aware of the unsanctioned online betting prevailing in our sector and am calling upon the Lotteries and Gaming Board to look into this issue”.
He said the Board must consider strategies to embrace this “new invention and use of technology in betting as it widens our revenue and stakeholder base in a manner that does not jeopardise our standing as a country in as far as money laundering is concerned”.
“We are currently in the grey zone and are working very hard to ensure we comply with the expectations so that we move out of this zone. We therefore need time to interrogate the possibility of this route,” Kazembe said.
He said there is danger in rushing to embrace the new technology since the country is under attack from some Western countries through the imposition of illegal sanctions.
“If this is rushed without proper monitoring, we risk being blacklisted and lose all we have worked for over the years, through the efforts of the President (ED Mnangagwa).
Kazembe said the industry must move with the ever changing trends and times in ways of doing business differently.
“In view of this, there is need to consider the possibilities of conducting a major survey of the Lotteries and Gaming public as a means of assessing the habits of these stakeholders – the type of games people are betting, with what frequency, as well as the age groups and economic backgrounds of punters,” he said.
Kazembe said such vital information would fundamentally assist in plotting the trajectory of the industry, against the backdrop of the Gaming Industry trends.
“It is common knowledge that, at present, we are unable to engage staff with prior Gaming Industry experience or knowledge from institutions of learning for deployment in our sector. It is therefore my submission for consideration that this gathering considers mooting of collaborative endeavours aimed at establishing training programmes for sector workers within the industry with entry level and other gaming establishments being the primary focus,” he said.
Kazembe reminded players in the industry to work within the dictates of the law, settle their dues as required and endeavour to remain fit and proper at all times.
“The renewal of licences will not be automatic. You will have to satisfy the regulator and indeed your leaders at the associations that indeed you are still fit and proper,” he said.
Kazembe also urged the board to review the Lotteries and Gaming Act before the end of the year.
“At the same time, I want to remind the Lotteries and Gaming Board to always discharge their mandate in a manner that is beyond reproach.
“One of the major assignments which I entrust the Lotteries and Gaming Board to deliver before the end of this year is to review the outdated Lotteries and Gaming Act. The alignment of the legislative framework to the contemporary environment of the Lotteries and Gaming will go far and beyond bringing ease of doing business within the industry,” Kazembe said.
