adminLeonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
STATE lotteries and gambling regulators from across Africa are meeting in Victoria Falls for an annual conference that will deliberate on match fixing, online gambling and money laundering. Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Melusi Matshiya told The Chronicle that the forum, which opened yesterday and ends on Wednesday, presents an opportunity for Zimbabwe to test its Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act that was passed last year.
“The Gaming Regulators Africa Forum (Graf) is a gathering of all gambling jurisdictions from the whole continent. The aim is to share ideas in terms of developments that have taken place since our last meeting,” said Matshiya.
Home Affairs Minister Cde Kembo Mohadi is expected to officially open the conference today.
Yesterday, there was a technical committee meeting of chief executives from the Forum’s affiliates.
“There will be discussions on topical issues such as server based gaming and player card verification, regulation of online gambling where focus will be on challenges and match fixing. There are experts who will lead the discussions on critical areas such as probity and compliance where we’re saying there should be honesty and value for money,” said Matshiya.
“As a regulator in Zimbabwe, we passed an Anti-Money Laundering Act last year and this is one of the topics that will be talked about and we expect it to be handy to us because we’ll soon be setting an inter-ministerial committee to operationalise the Act.”
Matshiya said the conference would help member states ensure excellence in the running of lotteries and betting games.
In relation to Zimbabwe, he said, the industry was “incrementally” growing with new players opening shop. “We’ve people opening gambling areas. Hoteliers are also applying for permanent casinos licences while others are seeking to enter into the gaming venture,” he said.
Gaming and gambling are established in terms of the Lotteries and Gambling Act. Speakers at the conference are drawn from across the world.
Graf seeks to provide a forum in which members can meet to exchange views and information and discuss policy on gaming matters and also liaise with any foreign or international bodies having similar objectives.
The organisation also seeks to keep gambling free from criminal activity and protect consumers and maintain fairness of the games.
The majority of participants had arrived yesterday while others were still expected at the venue at Elephant Hills Resort.
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