The Gaming Commission of Ghana has said it will soon initiate a nationwide campaign to create awareness on the dangers and illegality of underage gambling.
The commission has over the years received backlash from some communities in the country because some primary school children have been spotted on a number of occasions spending school hours and weekends engaging in gambling.
The commission subsequently set up a taskforce to clamp down on the activities of illegal gaming operators and gambling centers that were being patronized by children.
Speaking to the media during a familiarization tour of the commission by the country’s Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery and his deputy Henry Quartey, the deputy commissioner, Fredrick Kobby Annan said they were positive the campaign will generate the desired results.
According to him, although the taskforce made up of officials of the Commission and the Ghana Police Service, has since the beginning of the year clamped down on many centers and seizing machines, the campaign will get all other stakeholders including parents and guardians involved.
“Now we have a lot of monitoring teams visiting various sites to make sure children are not engaging in these gambling. We know how vulnerable children are and of course people would want to make their money but it shouldn’t be at their expense. We know this has become a menace but our human capacity resource is limited but we are trying to improve it and soon we will be able to get to every hook and cranny of the country.”
He further added that stringent measures have been put in place to ensure the commission carries out its duty as the regulator of the gaming industry.
“We are here to protect the community and once we get the support promised by the interior minister we will be able to do so much more. Now before we even issue a license we go to inspect the venue and location. Our monitoring teams make sure it is not close to a school. We always revoke licenses of legally registered companies who we find breaking our laid down rules, we don’t compromise.”
On his part, the Interior Ministry, Ambrose Dery pledged the support of his sector and called for more collaborative effort between the two parties to bring finality to some menace facing the gambling industry.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
