Harare Correspondent<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harare – Zimbabwe\u2019s Lotteries and Gaming Board (LGB) has announced that it has issued over 530 licenses to operators in the sports betting, lottery, and casino sectors this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This development highlights the board’s ongoing efforts to regulate the gaming industry in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview, LGB Secretary Dr. Misheck Chingozha emphasized the board’s commitment to addressing the social issues associated with gambling, including illicit drug use and trafficking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are guided by the philosophy of gambling density where we monitor the number of entities or gaming activities in any geographical space so that we don\u2019t end up exposing our general citizenry to gambling harm,\u201d Dr. Chingozha stated during the board’s strategic planning workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that the board had initially targeted the issuance of 535 licenses for 2024 but exceeded that goal with 539 licenses issued by the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is not really scary; it\u2019s within what we had actually targeted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Chingozha also highlighted the board’s efforts to clamp down on unregistered entities operating illegally in the gaming sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn view of the advent of technology, there is really some proliferation of illegal activities. Some of which we have accounted for particularly in Gweru and Harare, and the perpetrators were arraigned before the courts with their equipment confiscated by our compliance team,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Chido Sanyatwe, who spoke at the workshop, urged the board to develop strategies that enhance compliance within the gaming industry\u2019s regulatory framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe strategies must ensure strict adherence and compliance by all operators in the industry,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanyatwe called for research into the reasons behind the growing public interest in gaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI urge the board to critically analyze and understand the meaning of the growing appetite to invest in the gaming industry by both foreign and local investors,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis must be controlled and balanced with the growth of revenue collection, protection from gambling harm, and social responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She further emphasized the need for policies that go beyond mere compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSuch policies and strategies should not just be window-dressing policies to tick compliance boxes but reflect commitment to the protection of players,\u201d Sanyatwe asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIntensify the control of operator density to limit overcrowding of gambling services to the detriment of other social and economic obligations of the citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanyatwe also highlighted the connection between drug abuse and gambling, urging the board to incorporate strategies to mitigate these risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe board needs to continuously engage and intensify its efforts to curb non-compliance and illicit business practices such as money laundering and financing of terrorism,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the gaming industry continues to expand, the LGB faces the challenge of balancing growth with responsible regulation to protect players and the broader community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zim GBC News\u00a92024<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Harare Correspondent Harare – Zimbabwe\u2019s Lotteries and Gaming Board (LGB) has announced that it has issued over 530 licenses to operators in the sports betting, lottery, and casino sectors this… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-entertainment","category-social-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6586"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6588,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6586\/revisions\/6588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}