You won’t bet without a national ID, passport - government

Government will effective March 1, stop betting companies from providing services to people under the age of 25 years and those without national identity cards, the National Gaming Board chief executive officer, Mr Edgar Agaba, has said.

The directive was last Friday brought to the fore during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on information sharing about betting with Jinja District local government at the Town Hall.

“Under this arrangement, any person betting will be required to present his or her national identity card or passport number before being registered into the computer for issuance of a betting receipt.
“The person’s fully registered mobile number will also first be recorded to prevent children from betting, and all this is in line with the financial intelligence regulation entailed in the Ugandan Constitution,” Mr Agaba said.

This regulation, among others, Mr Agaba said, also compels a person to reveal the source of funding for the money being used in any business, a move he added is meant to fight money laundering in the country.

According to Mr Agaba, anybody below the age of 25 years will not be allowed to bet, and to enforce this directive, the age of those involved in betting will have to be registered before they proceed to bet.

He added that local governments with betting centres in town councils all over the country are being brought on board for easy implementation of the regulations set by government while those on the semi-urban peripheries will be shut down.

“We are signing a Memorandum of Understanding with these local governments to help us monitor their activities in the area and we shall always consult them when renewing their licences,’’ he said.

He, however, warned that companies which will not comply will have their licences revoked and premises closed indefinitely.
This development follows a January proclamation by the State minister of Planning, Mr David Bahati that President Museveni had ordered government not to register new sports betting companies or renew licences for the existing ones upon expiry.

Mr Bahati said government will determine the number of betting companies and they will operate in a new regulation aimed at protecting youth from the effects of betting.

In a separate interview with this newspaper in January, Mr Agaba said government stood to lose about Shs45b during the current financial year from the 40 general betting companies, 20 casinos and 15 slot machines.

Mr Ali Mwagale, a regular visitor to betting parllors, said this directive is likely to reduce on the number of patrons since most youths are below the age of 25 and lack national identity cards.
“The registration is going to be tiresome which may result into the withdrawal of some people,” he said.