War on gambling to protect children

The Gaming Commission has set up a taskforce to clamp down on the activities of illegal gaming operators and gambling centres that are patronised by children.

The taskforce, which is made up of officials of the Commission and the Ghana Police Service, has since the beginning of the year clamped down on many centres, seizing more than 50 machines used by the illegal operators in Accra alone.

The Executive Assistant and Public Affairs Manager of the commission, Ms Beatrice Baiden, who made this known to the Junior Graphic, noted that so far the exercise had been successful.

According to her, the Gaming Act 2006 (Act 721) strictly prohibits persons below the age of 18 from engaging in gambling activities.

Section 48 of the Gaming Act states that “A person responsible for a gaming machine shall not permit a child to use the gambling machine or to enter a place where the gambling machine is operated.”

“We have observed that there is a surge in the activities of illegal gaming operators and before the end of last year, we realised that they allow children to use their facilities, contrary to the Gaming Act,” Ms Baiden said.

She stated that whenever a child was found at the gaming centre, he or she was sent home, and if it was realised that the facility was registered with the commission, punitive action was taken against it.

The punitive action includes fines, letters of caution and closure if the operator still goes contrary to the rules.

However, she indicated that if the facility was not registered with the commission, the machine used for gambling was confiscated.

The Public Affairs Manager noted that the annual exercise to deal with illegal operators was not only done in Accra but in all the other regions of the country.

“In the course of our exercise, we realised that the illegal operators hid the machines in obscure places from the officials of the commission but we liaise with people in the communities who know where such operators carry out their activities and they give us the tip-off,” Ms Baiden added.

Ms Baiden said the work was a collaborative effort between the public and the commission and urged members of the public to notify the commission on the activities of gambling centres that allow children at their facilities.

Members of the public, she said, could call 0274698935, 0265239046 or 0299012286, to inform the commission on the activities on illegal operators.

“We are pleading with the public that if anyone sees a child at any of the gambling centres, he or she should drive them away or call us. Our officers go round the centres but when the children see them they run away only to return after the officers have left. We have to protect our children from gambling centres so the public should help us,” she pleaded.

She also called on parents and teachers to talk to children to stay away from gambling centres.