14 Jun 2020

The casino industry has lost over P40 million after closing operation during the COVID-19 extreme social distancing period.

That was revealed by Botswana Gambling Authority chief executive officer, Mr Thulisizwe Johnson at a media briefing Thursday, saying like other sectors of the economy, they were not spared from COVID-19 pandemic effects.

Mr Johnson said the industry was badly affected because there was no income generated during the time of closure.

Nevertheless, he said there were lessons they had learnt during the lockdown period, and were currently working round the clock to introduce online gambling as a measure for future scenarios,

“We have also advised casino owners to invest in online gambling as they have experienced a smooth execution of duties during the lockdown as they are more electronic than the usual paper work based entities,” he said.

He indicated that employees were able to work from home during the extreme social distancing period because they were all connected to the Internet prior to the pandemic.

“We are still operating on 50 per cent basis where half of the authority’s employees are still working from home to adhere to the social distancing protocol and for those who use public transport we have provided transport for them to and from work,” he said.

On participation in the gambling sector, Mr Johnson said 25 per cent of Batswana were actively taking part, adding ‘the door is not closed and anyone is welcome’.

 

Further, Mr Johnson indicated that the casino sector was contributing around 10 per cent to the economy via the gambling levy, which they also used to assist those with gambling addictions. ENDS