Uganda’s gambling authority, the National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board (NLGRB), has shared details of a training session held at Kitooro Market in Entebbe.
On market days, there is heavy footfall around the 1,000+ stall spaces, and the NLGRB has taken the opportunity to run a ‘sensitisation session’ with traders and the local community.
The function of the sessions was to educate traders on key tenets of responsible gaming and player protection – it was created in collaboration with mental health specialists from Butabika Hospital in Uganda’s capital and neighboring city, Kampala.
The NLGRB has shared that one regulatory principle was emphasized particularly, that being the idea that gaming must be entertainment and not a threat to players' financial stability.
Susan Hope, Senior Responsible Gaming Officer, commented: “Gaming should never cost someone their livelihood, their peace of mind, or their family. Our role is to ensure it remains entertainment – nothing more, nothing less.”
As part of the engagement, traders were encouraged to set personal limits on their time and expenditure, and with help from the medical professionals, they were given guidance on stress management, coping mechanisms and means of facilitating early intervention.
Pertinently, traders who manage stalls at the market were also reminded that gaming activity should not reach such an intensity that it begins to interfere with their businesses.
The responsible gaming team at NLGRB made sure to stress this as a potential early warning sign of problem gambling.
The NLGRB recently held a stakeholder meeting with the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to help strengthen the country’s electronic monitoring system
