Dar es Salaam. The Gaming Board of Tanzania (GBT) has introduced measures to temporarily restrict compulsive gamblers from betting as part of efforts to curb gambling addiction, particularly among young people.
The board is also expanding public awareness campaigns to promote responsible gambling, reminding the public that betting should be treated as entertainment rather than a source of income.
Speaking during the 50th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF), GBT Senior Public Awareness and Education Officer, Zena Athmani, said the regulator, which oversees 63 licensed gambling companies, was implementing initiatives to reduce the social and economic effects of excessive gambling.
"We have a campaign known as Makinika Kijana, Kubeti Sio Ajira (Be Smart, Young Person; Betting Is Not Employment), which teaches young people that gambling is entertainment, not employment," she said.
GBT is also running the Protect the Child campaign, which involves gambling operators and other stakeholders in preventing children from being exposed to gambling activities.
Ms Athmani said the board uses public education programmes through media platforms, social media, its website and other materials to raise awareness about responsible gambling and addiction warning signs.
She said individuals who realise they have developed gambling problems can voluntarily request to be excluded from betting activities for a specified period.
GBT can also intervene through its monitoring systems by identifying excessive gambling behaviour, temporarily suspending affected players and providing counselling and education.
"We monitor players, and when we see someone gambling excessively, we can temporarily stop them from participating and provide education because anything done in excess has harmful consequences," she said.
Ms Athmani warned that signs of gambling addiction include borrowing money to bet, hiding gambling activities, chasing losses, failing to meet financial obligations and repeatedly failing to stop despite attempts to do so.
Meanwhile, GBT is strengthening enforcement against illegal slot machines, commonly known as madubwi.
The board has partnered with the President's Office–Regional Administration and Local Government to train local officials to identify legal and illegal gambling machine operations.
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