NEWSLETTER RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING REPORT ILLEGAL GAMBLING CAMPAIGNS

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1 ILLEGAL GAMBLING MEDIA CAMPAIGN PAGE MOSES KOTANE OUTREACH PROGRAMME PAGE 08 STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ON ILLEGAL GAMBLING PAGE NEWSLETTER REPORT ILLEGAL GAMBLING RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING CAMPAIGNS PAGE 11 GAMBLING TIPS Don't think of gambling as a way to make money.... Always gamble with money that you can afford to lose. Never chase losses.... Set a money limit.... Set a time limit.... Don't gamble when you are depressed or upset.... Balance gambling with other activities.... Gambling and alcohol are not a good combination.!1

2 NWGB CEO Mr N. Oliphant The first Quarter of the 2018 Financial Year also marks the start of the Audit for the 2018/19 Financial Year. The contrast of two critical annual process means that we must constantly be in the service delivery mode within the confines of the law, i.e. spending in line with the PFMA. The review of the 1st Quarter performance and reflection on the APP 2018/19 strongly suggests that there is a need to review our APP and align it to the smart principles i.e. S- SPECIFIC and A- Attainable, Our targets must be achievable and within our control as a regulator. Illegal Gambling continuous to rob government of levies and taxes and we must carefully attend to this challenge because the level lost through the cracks is money that could enhance various other service delivery mechanisms The NWGB as a regulator equally serves an important part in the broader revenue generation schemes for our province, it also enables us to grow our capacity and enhance technological aspects that serve as enablers to ensuring that we actually become the number one regulator we envision to being. As we move on to the second quarter, we must ensure that we achieve our targets and contain our spending. I look forward to addressing the staff in the 100th day mark in office, in the interim Manco will be planning for enhancement as well as developing different strategies, Staff will always be part of this process as we move and grow the North West Gambling Board together!2

3 JULY 2018 Editors Desk: Mr S. Tatai As the new wave of optimism blisters through the corridors of our beloved organisation, the Corporate Relations Department takes this opportunity to welcome you all in the first issue of the 2018/19 Financial Year. A new sense of hopefulness is reverberating in our small corners as we seek to write a new narrative on the plans that we have set out to achieve in this Financial Year. Gambling in the North-West province. Illegal Gambling operations continues to be a hindrance in the socio-economic development of the gambling industry in the province. These operations continue to rob the Board of taxes and levies amounting to thirty million rands per annum. In mitigating against these challenges, the Board held a Stakeholder Engagement with the sole objective of devising ways and strategies to help fight High on the agenda is the appointment of the new CEO of the Board, Mr Nathan Oliphant who comes with a wealth of experience in both the Private and Public sector. We are hopeful that his leadership will not only steer the Board into the right direction but critically to new and greater heights. Illegal Gambling. A massive media campaign in the form Billboards and Radio Adverts has also been rolled out by the Board to educate and inform the people of North West about the dangers of illegal gambling. We hope that these messages will go a long way in helping the Board achieve its intended objectives of dealing with Illegal Gambling We further look at the efforts by the Board aimed at thwarting the scourge of Illegal operations. This is a but a glimpse of what one can expect on this issue.!3

4 FIGHT TO CURB ILLEGAL GAMBLING The province loses more than R30m in potential revenue due to unauthorized gambling activities every year Delegates at the stakeholder engagement on illegal gambling The province loses more than 30m in potential revenue due to illegal gambling activities every year. This came out at a workshop led by the North-West Gambling Board to try to find ways to curb unauthorised gambling. It is reported that there are about 50 known illegal gambling sites spread across the province and authorities said cumbersome legal processes have frustrated their efforts in trying to rein in such operations. At the workshop, delegates shared views on a strategy that has to be adopted if the war against illicit gambling is to be won. Many expressed the desire to see something tangible done to end illegal operations that are blamed for causing harm in society. Present at the workshop were licensed operators, the police and the regulator who all agreed on devising new ways and strategies to deal with the issue of illegal gambling in the province. Speaking on behalf of the police, provincial head of legal services in North West Maj- Gen Kealeboga Oliphant urged members of the public to be part of the solution in reporting illegal operations. He also issued a warning to operators who continue to flout the law. Soon we will pounce on them. Working hand in glove with our stakeholders, we will in due course conduct raids across the province and close these operations. Because some of the are a haven for criminal activities such as money laundering, human and drug trafficking, Oliphant said.!4

5 JULY 2018 Head of the Casino Association of South Africa, advocate Thami Ngobese, said he was concerned with how illegal sites continue to rob casinos of profits which could help sustain jobs and contribute in addressing the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality bedevilling the country. He said illegal sites have also been blamed the downward spiral in profits by casino operators. We find ourselves in the middle of this conundrum, where our employees are likely to lose their jobs and where there is going to be less money in our corporate social investment initiatives. And we are saying we need to be swift in our approach and act hard. One of our members, Sun City, has just invested more than R1bn in their operations. We need to rid the industry of unscrupulous people so that our investment initiatives do not fall through the cracks, Ngobese said. North- West Gambling Board deputy chairperson Lerato Seepe said the entity needed support from police, licensees and members of the community to deal decisively with illegal operators so that there is sanity in the sector. Illegal gambling needs all of us to pull together to fight it. Therefore, its upon all of us here to work together in closing these operations. If we fail in this regard we will end up with a situation where more than half of our operations are infiltrated by illegal operations. Clearly this is a situation we don t want to find ourselves in, Seepe said. North West Gambling board Head Office: 131 university drive, Mmabatho 2735 Tel: Fax: In the past, the board, working with the police, confiscated and destroyed some gambling machines but that has not deterred illegal operators. Some have resorted to the courts to have their machines returned, making it difficult for the board and other stakeholders.!5

6 JULY 2018 NEW GAMBLING BOSS STEPS IN North West Gambling Board appoints Nathan Oliphant as its CEO The North-West Gambling Board has appointed Nathan Oliphant as its new CEO. Oliphant takes over from Fortune Sekgaphane, whose tenure ended in January this year. Oliphant has a wealth of experience in both the public and private sectors. He held several positions at Eskom and left the entity when he was the industry support manager responsible for the North West. He joined the provincial finance, economy and enterprise development department as its chief of staff and later acting chief director for economic development. He has also led various organisations and institutions to empower women and young people. Oliphant said he wanted to see previously disadvantaged communities getting a foothold in the gambling industry.!6

7 JULY 2018 We need to measure the impact that the gambling industry has in our socioeconomic discourse as a province. Has it been able to contribute in addressing the c h a l l e n g e s o f p o v e r t y a n d unemployment? Has it been able to create opportunities for the poor or previously dis advantaged either through job opportunities or direct ownership? Efforts to transform the industry are overshadowed by illegal gambling activities. We need to be tough and swift in our actions, or else by tomorrow we will end up with an industry riddled with corrupt and crooked people, Oliphant said. Oliphant said he would be focusing on dealing with the scourge of illegal gambling, particularly in the western region of the province. I will schedule meetings with our licensees, provincial head of police, the Hawks and devise ways and means on how we can deal with illegal gambling. The government is being robbed of taxes and levies by these unscrupulous people. Some of these operations are haven for criminal activities such as drugs and human trafficking, Areas mostly affected by illegal gambling are Brits, Rustenburg and Klerksdorp. Illegal operators evade paying taxes and have in the past been accused of failing to pay those who would have won. In several operations conducted, a number of illegal machines have been confiscated and some destroyed. The board has seen its efforts to transform the sector hit a brick wall and industry has largely remained a preserve for the whites.!7

8 NWGB SUPPORTS GOVERNMENT OUTREACH CAMPAIGNS!8

9 JULY 2018 NORTH WEST GAMBLING BOARD MEDIA CAMPAIGN ON ILLEGAL GAMBLING IN FULL SWING The North-West Gambling Board has recently launched a media campaign on Illegal Gambling. The campaign is aimed at raising awareness on Illegal Gambling and encouraging punters and members of society to report illegal Gambling operations to the Board and relevant Authorities. Illegal Gambling continues to be an area concern for the Board particularly in the province s economic hub which is Rustenburg and its surrounding towns and the far west of the province which includes Vryburg in the Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality. The Chief Executive Officer of the North West Gambling Board, Mr Nathan Oliphant maintains that illegal gambling continues to have a stubborn presence in the province despite efforts to curb it. And a multifaceted approach is needed to deal with Illegal Gambling. Our plan is multifaceted in nature. Our adverts on illegal gambling are currently running in four major towns of the province on digital Billboards. We have also taken our campaigns to one of the biggest Radio Station in our province which is Motsweding FM and it has an audience reach of close to three million listeners. We are hopeful that this campaign will yield desired objectives, said Mr Oliphant. In a recent meet and greet drive with industry leaders both in the North West and Gauteng province, Mr Oliphant urged the Board s Licensees to be part of the solution in fighting the scourge of Illegal Gambling. We need to pull together in this fight because Illegal Gambling poses a very serious threat in the industry. It continues to reverse the many gains and the strides we have made in creating a conducive environment for the industry to thrive, particularly in creating opportunities for the Previously Disadvantaged Individuals including contributing to Local Economic Development (LED) said Mr Oliphant. Several Licensees have already committed to assist the Board in the roll-out of the campaign. The Board will also hold a Stakeholder Workshop on IIlegal Gambling scheduled for the 1 st of June 2018 in Mahikeng. This will include the SAPS, Industry leaders, Licensees and other key stakeholders in the gambling industries!9

10 DO THE RIGHT THING!10

11 RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING CAMPAIGNS The North West Gambling Board conducted responsible gambling campaigns in Lichtenburg in the Ditsobotla Local Municipality and Zeerust in the Ramotshere Moiloa Local Municipality in the North West Province. The objective is to raise awareness on socio-economic ills associated with problem & illegal gambling. The Board loses over 30 million Rands in taxes and levies per annum in taxes and levies due to illegal gambling sites.!11