“If you really want to help the youth, some of the youth are potential musicians, actors and all that. So if you really want to help the youth, why not fix the creative industry?” the words of Mimi Andani-Michaels, a musician and Chief Operating Officer of advertising agency M&J Ghana.

Mimi’s statement is a reaction to the Gaming Commission’s newly introduced guidelines on advertising for operators of games of chance that include banning betting companies from using celebrities in their advertisement or as ambassadors.

According to the commission, the decision “is to ensure that advertisements by operators are conducted in a responsible manner devoid of promises of any predetermined outcomes, appeals/enticements to Gamble to the vulnerable in society as well as minimise exposure to minors where applicable.”

The guidelines have been fiercely contested by some industry persons as they deem it injurious to the sector. They have backed their arguments with the effects the FDA’s had on the industry as well as how the lack of structures in the art sector has shrunk income generation.

Siding with her colleagues, Mimi in an interview with Abrantepa on GhanaWeb TV’s entertainment review show ‘Bloggers’ Forum’ said the government should as a matter of urgency ensure that persons in the art do not labour in vain.

“If you want to say that the alcohol and the betting companies using celebrities are going to cause a lot of problems for the youth and affect the youth negatively, why not fix the industry? If the industry was good, probably, nobody would have been complaining about betting and alcohol. If the royalties were coming as they are supposed to, and genuinely, if we had better systems in our industry, probably, these regulations would have been understood,” she said.

Watch the full show below: