Betting companies near schools should be closed down - Education Minister

Dr. Osei Yaw Adwutwum, Minister of Education, has requested that the Ghana Gaming Commission expedite the closure of all betting establishments near schools.

The minister who made the call during a visit to the Gaming Commission of Ghana headquarters asserted that betting facilities that are closer to educational facilities make their operations illegal because the laws regulating the commission frown on it.

Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum urged the commission to be firm in enforcing laws about their operations to bring sanity to the gaming industry.

He also appealed to the commission to have a critical look at the location of betting centres in the country, especially with regards to educational facilities to prevent children from patronizing such facilities located close to their institutions and control the influx of children into such gaming centres contrary to the Gaming Act 2006 (Act 721) which guides the operations of the commission according to a Citi news report.

The minister also pledged his support to the gaming commission for his preparedness to liaise with them about how school children storm betting centers, especially during instructional hours.

Dr. Adutwum's plea is based on a report by the Balaka Policy Institute (BPI) in Accra over the weekend, which highlighted how betting centers are strategically springing up near educational institutions, especially Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the country.

The reports show instances of students and other under-aged children flooding some of the betting centers to patronize their operations.

Mr Peter Mireku, the Commissioner, praised the education minister for the visit, saying that they would go a long way towards achieving the best results for the country.

He described several advocacy and sensitization initiatives implemented by the Commission to clean up the nation's gaming industry.

Pursuant to the Gaming Act 2006 (Act 721), betting centers are expected to operate 100 meters away from schools, churches, mosques and other social facilities.

But the current situation whereby some gaming centers are spotted around educational institutions across the country prompted the education minister to visit the Commission for a discussion on how to sanitize the space for the sake of under-aged children.

AM/WA