Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has banned the operations of casinos and gaming centres in the state, including BetNaija over alleged “dark deals”.
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The notice of the ban is contained in a statement jointly signed by the Commissioner for Culture, Entertainment and Tourism, Mr Donatus Onyenji; Chairman, Anambra State Internal Revenue Service, Richard Madiebo and the Commissioner for Homeland Affairs, Chikodi Anara.
According to the statement, the ban is a sequel to a worrisome number of petitions recently received by the government concerning the manipulation of casino machines and non-transparency in payment for winnings.
It said the allegations amounted to serious abuse of global best practices in the industry which the government under the watch of Governor Chukwuma Soludo would not condone.
The statement partly read, “This fraudulent practice will not be allowed to thrive under the watch of Prof Chukwuma Soludo’s administration and therefore must be dealt with immediately.
“Consequently, the Anambra government hereby directs operators of casino games in Hotels, Restaurants and Bars to suspend all Gaming and Casino operations with immediate effect pending the conclusion of investigations.”
Meanwhile, the government has summoned a meeting of all hotel owners and managers in the state on October 21 at the Prof Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre.
The meeting it said would address issues of enumeration and validation of hotel licenses as well as security, warning that it is mandatory.
It said hotel revalidation forms would be distributed at the venue for all categories of hotels and tourism enterprises, adding that any hotel that was not profiled or without Hotel License would be closed down according to Anambra State Tourism and Hospitality Law.