Windhoek
Government generated over N$42 million in revenue and taxes from six casinos and 254 licenced gambling houses countrywide.
The said gambling houses are providers of an estimated 1000 direct jobs.
For the year 2013/14 government generated N$22 million in revenue and taxes from gambling houses and N$20.7 million from casinos.
Jobs created through this sector are considered to be more than favourable compared to other industries with more salaries and benefits.
This was revealed by the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta on Tuesday at the official opening of the Plaza Casino at Hilton. The new casino is a 100 percent Namibian company and is the brainchild of United Africa Group (UAG), owned by Haddis Tulihun.
UAG already runs casinos in Windhoek, Swakopmund Oshakati and, in addition, has a diverse business portfolio such as hospitality, property development, renewable energy and travel. “As you can see, casino gaming has become a critical component of the Namibian and global entertainment, which is associated with tourism attraction as well and at the same time creating jobs in different regions,” stated Shifeta. Shifeta further said the industry has evolved and grown over the past year, so does technology. He reiterated that some games are now networked and designed to accommodate multiple players, adding the technological changes present a host of new challenges for regulators. “The technology also offers regulators the tools to even more closely monitor these games and financial activities,” said.
“Therefore Namibia is in a unique and enviable position because we as regulators have the opportunity to craft regulations that can address modern gaming from the beginning,” elaborated the environment and tourism minister. He said there is an area of concern about some people who cannot gamble responsibly. “I know that responsible gaming is priority for you and it is also a priority for the entire gaming industry, we should take this issue very serious and work hard to make sure policies and regulations related to responsible gaming are based on sound science,” stressed Shifeta. He said that once the amendment of the Gaming and Gambling Act is complete, getting a gambling or casino licence would be tough and difficult as the requirement will be stiff and strict.
“The system will now root out the irresponsible gamblers and protect their dependants. Although we cannot punish everyone by ruling out of the three or two irresponsible gamblers, we need to give a chance to others and that’s why this casino is opened. It is a business, and businesses are meant to make money,” remarked Shifeta.