Government to register all people who bet, gamble

Government is set to register bettors and gamblers in the country, The Nile Post has learnt.

According to Edgar Agaba, the chief executive officer of the National Gaming Board, they are set to introduce a central monitoring system for all people involved in the game of betting by capturing all their details.

“This will help Bank of Uganda, Ministry of Finance, Financial Intelligence Authority and the Uganda Revenue Authority know who plays the game and how much they stake,”Agaba told journalists at the Uganda Media Centre on Wednesday.

“At the end we will be able to know the betting pattern and how much money one uses at the end of the year. We shall also be able to determine if one has become addicted to betting.”

He explained that through the new system government would now be in position to track all the finances that go into the sector with a view of taxing them.

“Before placing their bet, they players must provide their National Identification card numbers(NIN), telephone contacts, nationality, passport number for non- citizens and all their details and if you don’t have those details, you will not be allowed to place a bet ,”Agaba said.

He said that betting has no borders through the availability of websites used to place bets, adding that with the central monitoring system, government will be able to know of the many payment methods available that exist but government does not earn taxes from them .

The National Gaming Board CEO added that aggregators and those that aid in betting like telecom companies will also have to be registered and monitored as part of the new measures.

The new measures according to government will help streamline monitoring, protection of minors and vulnerable groups, increase revenue streams and also be in compliance with industry best practices.

Government got shs 37 billion in form of taxes from gaming in the financial year 2016/17 but according to the National Gaming Board CEO, this revenue is expected to increase to Shs 42 billion in the financial year 2017/18.

He however warned that gaming should not be a job but rather a form of leisure.

“Gaming is for leisure and people should not spend the entire day playing,”Agaba warned.

On many occasions, many people especially youths have been addicted to betting as they spend most of their times in the halls of betting companies but according to Agaba, these ought to be reported to nearby authorities for action to be taken.

“We have a challenge of overcrowding in the betting shops. There is need to fight the vice because on many occasions, those crowds don’t work but spend their day in betting and in the end are involved in criminal activities like robbery.”