Namibia has appointed eight members to a new board of casinos with the purpose of advising the Minister of Environment and Tourism on the new Gambling Act. The new board will act for a period of 12 months or until the Gaming and Entertainment Bill is legislated by parliament.
Amending the Bill
In 2008, the Gaming and Entertainment Bill began to be drafted by the ministry in order to close any loopholes in the Casino and Gambling Houses Act of 1994. The Act regulates casinos that offer gambling; however it was discovered that it lacked sufficient regulation of gambling or control.
According to Pohamba Shifeta, Minister of Environment and Tourism, the ministry found that gambling led to activities such as substance abuse, sexual promiscuity, delinquency and crime, with some gamblers resorting to theft to support their gambling.
"We are in the process of amending the existing law," stated Shifeta. "We are trying to protect vulnerable members of society, who are affected by gambling. You will find family members gambling all the money while there is no food at home, for instance. So, with the new law we will have stricter provisions to protect these people."
The Secretary of the new board will be Sem Shikongo (the director for tourism and gaming at MET) and the chairperson of the board will be Festus Mbandeka (the head for corporate legal services and company secretary of MTC).
Drafting of the Lotteries Bill
In addition to the new board for casinos in Namibia the Cabinet approved the selection of members for the Lotteries Board, the aim of which is to advise the minister of tourism on a new Lotteries Bill to supplant the current Lotteries Act of 2002.
One of the aspects of the new bill would be to allow the government to raise funds through the lotteries in order to benefit the citizens of Namibia and the country. The term of the board will be for 12 months or until the Lotteries Bill is legislated by parliament.
There are a total of 10 members of the new Lotteries Board with five alternating positions. Sem Shikongo from the MET will act as the secretary of the board and Michael Mambo Mukete (the Chief Executive Officer at eBank) will become the board chairperson.