The government has no direct bearing on the issuance of casino licenses, Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon noted on Wednesday.

Harmon was responding to questions raised at the Gaming Authority’s second annual stakeholder forum hosted at Hermandston Lodge in the city.

“The government has no role in this matter, in spite of what you are hearing about persons who want to speak to government ministers, the Gaming Authority has the full mandate to deal with these matters and we support the gaming authority in the work which they do,” he said.

The forum was held under the theme “Responsible Gaming in Guyana” and was cited as a means of bringing stakeholders together to discuss the progress of the gaming industry of Guyana. It was also geared at equipping stakeholders with the knowledge on how the Industry could be made more efficient and effective to not only serve them, but also serve Guyanese.

Harmon, who was the keynote speaker at the event, told the gathering that the government recognizes that gaming is a form of entertainment in the local society and while noting that it should be permitted, he said the government is committed to instituting all of the necessary measures to ensure that responsible gaming pervades the industry.
“The theme of this forum ‘responsible gaming in Guyana’ brings me some level of assurance that the gaming authority is taking a holistic and an all-encompassing approach to its role as the regulatory authority for casinos, lottery and betting shops in Guyana. In addition to regulating gaming entities for the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism act #2009, the gaming authority has a responsibility to ensure that the public and operators of gaming establishments are aware of not only the positive but also the negative impacts that gaming can have on an individual and in our society in general,” said Harmon.

He further stated that the inclusion of medical professionals in the forum is a welcomed one, as it promoted awareness of some of the negatives that may stem from the gaming industry. He stated that persons may not know they have a medical disorder and as such gambling would pose a negative effect on them.

“The diagnostic statistical manual of mental disorder has established criteria for diagnosing persons with gambling disorders as well as treatments that range from psychotherapeutic interventions to pharmacological treatment. The presence of the medical community here today is therefore crucial as we strive to promote awareness and institute measures that will create a gambling landscape which supports the mental health of our people.
These provisions exist in all our countries with enhanced gaming industries where there are the entrenchment of responsible gaming programmes and policies which must be implemented by gaming operators, since they are in-cooperated by authorities in the criteria for licensing, and this is the point I just want to make that these responsible gaming arrangements must find themselves into our criteria for licensing these entities,” Harmon stated.

Chairman of the Guyana Gaming Authority, Roysdale Forde, stated that the Gaming industry could only grow stronger with the cooperation and mutual understanding of the stakeholders and the Gaming authority. He further went on to explain that the country would benefit tremendously if persons in the industry follow the guidelines set out for them.

“Responsible gaming as I would have said is the only way forward, for our country and for our industry and we have no choice but to embrace this concept. The aim is to ensure that we have a holistic system, and it is my hope that each of you attending today would take back to your organization the understanding of the role you play, the importance of gaming and responsible gaming and how we can move together to prevent the negative habits associated with gaming and to direct treatment and guidance if necessary, so the way forward by the presence of such a wide range of persons in society today is a recognition that it is a multifaceted and a team approach to ensure that we emerge successful,” said Forde.

Forde also went on to say the Gaming Authority is currently in the process of verifying the information from the applications they would have received and is working expeditiously to get those applications approved once they have met the necessary requirements.

When asked about the Gaming Authority’s position in relation to granting Superbet a License to operate, Forde said, “Superbet has not been relicensed because they have not complied with the requirements. We have informed Superbet as to the issues we have in relation to them, our concerns towards their operations and we have provided them with what we consider a fair and reasonable way to have the issue resolved.”
Forde went on to state that any entity that wishes to receive a license to operate must be able to meet the necessary requirements set out by the Gaming Authority. Once those requirements are met their application for license to operate should be approved. He spoke on the current position of the arrangement between the SleepInn International Hotel and the Gaming authority on their application for a Casino License, explaining that the Gaming Authority has tried to facilitate SleepInn but that the hotel’s proprietors are still to provide the necessary information.

“….that application is being considered, we have a number of concerns. That application was initially refused and rejected by the Gaming Authority, a second application was made, we met with them on a number of occasions we wrote to them outlining to them what is the sort of information that we would need in order to make a final decision. We have informed them on it, we have informed the other stakeholder who has an interest in their application and we have not yet received any information from them. They have indicated to us that they will pursue certain measures and we have not gotten that information from them. We plan to meet as a board and make a decision because we cannot wait indefinitely but we have bent over backward to facilitate both Superbet and the SleepInn applications,” said Forde.