As part of its renewed to enforcement drive against illegal gaming, the Enugu State Gaming and Lotto Commission has sealed several illegal and unlicensed gaming outlets in the state capital, Enugu.

The commission visited and sealed unlicensed jackpot slot machine games at entertainment centres such as Ballroom, Eclipse Resort, Edge Guest House, Guaranty Resort, Kepong Villa, and Desa Park City Suite/Garden, all operated by Yanga Game.

Speaking with newsmen during the enforcement exercise at the weekend, Executive Secretary of the Commission, Prince Arinze Arum, stressed that the agency’s mandate included issuing of license to gaming operators and monitoring their activities to make sure they comply with the laws and set rules governing gaming in the state.

He warned those who try to circumvent the rules or operate behind the scenes, stressing that the new technologies deployed by the agency had geo-location capabilities that keep record of all licensed and approved gaming operators in the state.

“We have come out here today to enforce the rules and we set out to shut down and seal illegal gaming operators in the state. Government is serious about promoting responsible gaming.

“For us, it starts with knowing the players in the industry in the state, licensed operators. We must have a structured gaming ecosystem, and that begins with proper licensing. That way, you know your operators and your stakeholders in the industry. Anybody that is operating illegally, behind the scene, is already creating problems, and we will not tolerate that.

“We don’t take kindly anyone that tries to circumvent the process, to think they can operate under the radar; we will see you. The technologies we are talking about have geo-location capabilities. We know where all our licensed and approved operators outlets are located,” Mr. Arum warned.

Regarding licensing, the Executive Secretary said that the decision was based on the ease of doing business, as Governor Peter Mbah’s vision of growing Enugu’s economy seven folds to $30bn could not be achieved without ease of doing business being embedded in every sector.

Mr. Arum emphasised that the procedures for obtaining gaming license in the state had become so seamless and smooth that no excuses would be entertained for illegal or unlicensed operations.

“The Commission has already deployed technologies that reduced the duration of obtaining gaming operator’s license from months to only seven working days or less; the other good thing is that operators could apply for their license online and in the comfort of their homes,” he concluded.

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