The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs, Canice Nwachukwu, has charged the government to put in place a centralized motion system for sports betting in the country.
Nwachukwu stated this, at a public hearing on the need to check the negative effects of sports betting in the country. He stated that while the committee would not call for the shutdown of the sector, it is imperative to ensure that operators stick to regulations.
According to him, “We would not go against people doing their business. They have rights to exercise their franchise. But what we are saying is we have to play within the rules of the game. We have to arm the system to control and enforce all the provisions that would allow gaming and betting to flow smoothly without becoming a social menace.
“I am not going to be here to say we are going to shut gaming and betting and people operating in that sector. What we would do is to make sure there is a level playing ground whereby all the mechanisms that should be out in place to ensure it does not become inimical to the society.
“We have to play within the rules of engagement. That comes to the issue of a central monitoring system. It must be introduced. This is going to a reasonable extent help is solved some of the problems we are having now.
“By the time we have the system in place some of these stories would become history. It is not going to be completely eradicated but to a reasonable extent it will solve some of these issues.” (Sun)