The President of the Ghana Association of Sports Betting (GHASBO), Dr Kobby Boateng, has called for collaboration between the Ghana Gaming Commission (GGC), operators and other stakeholders to sanitise the betting industry.
According to him, the industry has evolved over the years and operators must endevour to observe the legal guidelines and attain the right licenses to engage in the business.
“We must work together and explore best practices and ways to engage in responsible betting as part of measures to sanitise the industry,” he said during a Regulatory Compliance Workshop held recently in Accra.
The workshop, sponsored by Betway, brought together industry players and regulators to deliberate on issues affecting compliance within the betting space in Ghana and measures to address the concerns.
Partners for the event were the GGC, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Data Protection Commission, Finance Intelligence Centre, Ghana Police, Accra Metropolitan Assembly and several betting companies in the country.
“Together, we could work towards a very compliant industry that would be safer and beneficial to all,” he stated.
On his part, the Board Chairman of the Gaming Commission, Gary Nimako Marfo, urged the public to share information on persons operating illegally as part of measures to regulate the industry.
He said persons operating without license from appropriate authorities were destroying the image of a rather decent industry.
“Let us also take GHASBO very seriously as it is committed to addressing challenges within the industry and ensure a level playing field for all to succeed,” he stated.
“It is important to ensure that underage children are stopped from betting in order to protect their future,” he added.
“Underage betting has been a challenge over the years. Operators must help the regulators and ensure that people of the right ages were involved,” he stressed.
He also urged betting companies to engage in Corporate Social Responsibilities and ensure their impact was felt within the communities they operate.
GHASBO Secretary, Dr Kweku Ainuson, said the betting industry had become lucrative and contributing largely to the growth of economies globally, hence the need for proper regulations are to be ensured.
According to him, “this is a 100-billion dollar industry and there must be proper balance with regard to what the government demand and what the operators want.”
Ultimately, he said stakeholders must work towards removing all illegalities from the game and ensure a sustainable industry.
The Project Manager at the Gaming Commission, Mr Thomas T.K Agorsor, said they would continue to engage to ensure that the taxes imposed on betting was acceptable by all.
BY MICHAEL D. ABAYATEYE
