adminTrust Khosa
HOME Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister, Kazembe Kazembe, yesterday warned casino operators, and betting houses, to abide by the Lotteries and Gaming Board (LGB) regulations to bring sanity to the sector.
He warned new players in the betting sector to consult the LGB before setting up shop.
Minister Kazembe issued the warning at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between N-Soft and LGB.
“I would like to warn casino operators in the country to consult the Lotteries and Gaming Board before they even start operating or setting up structures.
“We need to look at the number of casinos we have in the country to establish if they all follow the LGB regulations.
“The gaming industry, as indeed is the case with other industries, is vulnerable to unprecedented haemorrhage,” he said.
Minister Kazembe said they would flex their muscles against betting houses and casino operators not declaring their earnings.
“There is always this mischief among some operators that deny the Government its deserved revenues through taxes and levies.
“It is this mischief that we now intend to curb so that the regulator is aware of what’s happening in real time and also to ensure that the activities taking place are above board and legal,” he said.
The Minister said they were looking forward to a new era of transparency following the signing of the MoU.
“We are gathered here to witness the beginning of a new relationship of mutual benefit between the Government of Zimbabwe through the Lotteries and Gaming Board and N-Soft.
“N-Soft is a global technology company which has a strong footprint throughout the world.
“Through this relationship, they are expected to embark on a pilot project where they will deploy technologies to monitor gaming activities.
“The success of the pilot project will lead to the roll-out of the programme to all sport betting shops in the country,” he said.
LGB acting board chairperson, Eugenia Chidhakwa, hailed the Ministry for supporting their vision.
“The Lotteries and Gaming Board is indebted for your unwavering support that we were entrusted with the responsibility of captaining the lotteries and gaming ship.
“We have witnessed phenomenal growth in the last two years and have some industry-related challenges that is the reason we are gathered here today for this historic Mou signing with N-Soft, who have pledged a solution to our woes in respect of revenue generation.
“For a very long time, we have been grappling with generating respectable revenue from our operators who we have a reason to believe are doing better than they are declaring. With this solution, as we learnt from the presentation and subsequent engagement with N-Soft, we will be in a position to monitor our operators in real time,” she said.
Chidhakwa said they were committed to continue working with N-Soft for the betterment of the sector.
N-Soft was represented by its senior vice-president, Prakash Sabunani, and head of business development, Rosa Hense.
Online Reporter