Tourism, at a gala function of the Fourth Biennial Gambling Conference in Cape
Town
20 April 2006
Master of Ceremonies,
Chairperson of the Botswana Gambling Board,
Chairpersons,
Members,
CEOs and staff of the national and provincial gambling boards,
Industry members and distinguished guests:
It is my pleasure to address you at this gala function of the Fourth
Biennial Gambling Conference arranged by the National Gambling Board of South
Africa.
Throughout the world the legalised gambling and betting industries are
predicated on the desire of governments to create an appropriate balance
between providing citizens with the opportunity to participate in legitimate
forms of recreational activity such as gambling and betting and ensuring that
these pursuits are undertaken in such a manner that the public is protected,
fairness is promoted and the integrity of the industry is upheld. To achieve
this objective, effective regulation is essential.
Effective regulation has a number of key components. It requires a
regulatory body staffed by persons of the highest integrity. It also requires
an ongoing assessment of the technological and operational parameters within
which gaming is conducted and standards which are responsive to those
parameters. Importantly, it also requires sensitivity to the social and
economic fabric of communities in which gambling is made available. It requires
the development and implementation of clear, comprehensive and often exacting
standards for participation in the industry. But most of all, it depends
heavily on information sharing.
The chief currency for the execution by a regulator of its mandate is
information. Regulators are entrusted with sensitive, confidential information
on a daily basis and are often called upon to share such information with other
recognised and credible regulatory bodies. This information sharing process
enables broadly uniform standards to be applied across geographical boundaries
and ensures that individuals who do not meet these standards will be unlikely
to gain entry to the industry wherever they may seek to operate. It goes
without saying that these information sharing processes preserve the integrity
of both industry participants and regulators worldwide.
However, information sharing must go way beyond this if effective regulation
is to be assured. As such it is crucial that regulators, industry role players
and industry related service providers take time out from the day to day
performance of their functions to meet, discuss and reflect upon the
environment in which they operate and in so doing to determine the areas in
which successes have been achieved and perhaps more crucially the areas in
which improvements on existing policies or practices are called for.
Critical self assessment such as this cannot be undertaken in a vacuum. In
order to identify the merits and demerits of existing policies and practices, a
collaborative and comparative process is needed. Collaboration with others
performing the same functions in different jurisdictions enables us to identify
differences in approach, discuss the reasons for and impact of those
differences and gauge the approach which best fits the environment in which the
industry operates. It enables us to learn from both the successful and less
successful initiatives which have been tried and tested elsewhere.
Over and above the need for collaborative and comparative analysis as a tool
for embarking upon self assessment, it is also important to ensure that the
approach is multi disciplinary. No sector of the gambling and betting
industries operates in a vacuum. The various sectors have much to learn from
one another. But more importantly there are crucial facets of regulatory
practices which cut across the various industry sectors such as the need to
ensure that gambling and betting is conducted in a socially responsible way and
that the vulnerable are protected. In this context information sharing between
regulators, industry participants and responsible gambling practitioners is
vital.
It is therefore gratifying that the National Gambling Board has over the
past eight years taken the initiative to organise biennial conferences at which
information sharing of the type I have described becomes possible. It is clear
from the programme for this conference that the material to be examined and
discussed will prompt meaningful information sharing and enable delegates to
reach informed views on a range of key issues affecting them. It is also clear
that the conference has been structured to promote effective collaboration in
that it makes provision for an analysis of the growth and development of the
gambling industry on the African continent as a whole. The participation of the
Chairperson of the Botswana Gaming Board, who is also the current Chairperson
of the Gaming Regulators of Africa Forum, is a most welcome means of promoting
mutual learning and cooperation across national boundaries whilst providing
valuable insights into the approach towards regulation in an African
context.
The important objective of collaboration is also boosted by the involvement
of a range of South African regulatory bodies at this conference. Valuable
insights may be gained by sharing of information in this context as it is
inevitable that provincial jurisdictions are at different levels of development
or have depending on their environments various levels of specialised
focus.
The goal of collaboration will also be advanced by the participation of a
number of industry role players in the various discussions. It is also
encouraging seeing that various sectors of the gambling and betting industries
are represented, promoting dialogue and mutual understanding. The conference
also provides access to information on the latest developments in the
technological context in dealing with server based gaming facilitated by an
expert from Malta, and interactive gambling information which is critical in
today's context of globalisation and borderless transactions and essential for
the development of appropriate policies to meet these trends. The prospects for
information sharing on an international basis are also enhanced by the
participation in the conference of representatives from the United States (US),
the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands and as I have said Malta and from
eight other African countries all of whom I would like to welcome to Cape Town.
Thank you for your participation.
Over and above this, the conference programme has the added benefit of
approaching its subject matter from a multi disciplinary perspective. In this
regard the involvement of internationally and nationally recognised experts in
the field of problem and responsible gambling is most welcome in stimulating
discussion as to how South Africa's world class model can be further developed
and refined.
Finally, a word of thanks to all who have been involved in the organisation
of this important event and those delegates who have travelled long distances
to share their expertise with us. I wish you all well in your further
discussions and deliberations and trust that they will add significant value
for many years to come.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Western
Cape Provincial Government
20 April 2006
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government (http://www.capegateway.gov.za/)
