— still quite a lot of looseness in the sector, says Harmon

AN increase in allocations for the Gaming Authority of Guyana has been made in the 2019 national budget to strengthen its ability to regulate the sector, says Minister of State Joseph Harmon.

Harmon, on Monday, told the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly during the Consideration of Budget Estimates 2019, that the sums allocated were some $40M, an increase by $19M fromthe previous budgetary allocation. It is to ensure that the authority is better equipped to ensure compliance in the sector.

The budgetary allocations for the Gaming Authority fall under the purview of the Ministry of the Presidency. While noting that the sector is “very wide”, the minister of state, who was responding to the Opposition’s queries on the budgetary allocation for the authority, said there are instances where various entities try to operate without licenses.
To this end, he informed the Committee that a new legislation geared at strengthening the regulatory arm of the authority, is receiving the attention of the Attorney General Chambers.

The legislation intends to bring additional staff to the authority in keeping with the plans in train to improve the functions of the body.
Following the passage of the Gambling Prevention Act (2008), the Gaming Authority of Guyana was launched on December 1, 2008.
The body operates as the Supervisory Authority for betting shops, casinos and lotteries under the AML/CFT Act of 2009 and its Amendment.

In June this year, Director Christine King highlighted the readiness of the Board and Directors of the authority to fulfill the mandate of the body, a designated non-financial business or supervisory authority to implement and enforce the requirements of the AML/CFT Act. She made the statement during the first in a series of stakeholders’ fora.

At that forum, King emphasised the commitment of the Gaming Authority to ensuring that policies and procedures relative to AML/CFT, are stringently observed and implemented by all gaming entities to bring about order and to ensure that the gaming industry in Guyana is well regulated.

Meanwhile, under questioning from the Opposition regarding an increase in allocation from $30M to $100M under the current estimates of the Ministry of the Presidency’s budgetary allocation for 2019, Harmon said that monies from the allocated sum will go towards improving the infrastructure at the ministry offices.

He said that when the APNU+AFC administration assumed office in 2015, there was a lot of flooding at the ministry, formally the Office of the President. He said the revetment and drainage was poor. The minister said the revetment is being addressed around the complex and the pavement is also being fixed.

“We are trying to make the Presidential complex look Presidential,” Harmon said.
It was noted too that the allocated sum will also cover expenditures at the Castellani and Stephen Campbell houses.