Casino, bingo and betting licences up for grabs
Gaone Marumoloa | Friday May 5, 2017 14:28
According to the Authority’s chief executive officer Thulisizwe Johnson, as part of their mandate they will open up Request For Application (RFA) for the bingo and betting licence on May 16 this year while those for the casinos will be open on May 10.
“We are opening RFA effective this month and I want to clarify that bidders are welcome to apply for more than one licence,” he said.
The RFA is the guide document, which shall be used to provide information on the process and information required from applicants to be assessed for the award to the successful operator.
Further Johnson expressed gratitude over the way the public responded to the national lottery draft noting that the feedback was good, as they have gone through each one of them.
“We are pleased over the way the public showed interest as we received about 100 comments and there were many good quality interventions that we have taken into account,” he said.
Two months ago, the Authority began a process towards selecting a private operator for the Botswana National Lottery under a 10-year licence. As part of the process which is expected to take nine months, the Authority put the draft lottery document (RFA) on their website allowing the public to air their opinions around it.
“In the process of all these licences, we intend to empower and support local procurement and the economic diversification drive, empower citizens as well as develop Botswana thus assisting in the economic diversification,” he said. In addition he said they will ensure that responsible gambling is practised by protecting the vulnerable and the under 21 years of age in participating even in raffles.
According to the Authority’s annual report for 2016/2017, they have paid government total levy amounting to P21 million compared to P20 million paid out during the preceding financial year representing a decrease of P161,000, which is one percent. The total government levy collected from 2012 to 2016 was P105 million.
In 2012 government collected P21 million compared to P20.9 million that was collected the following year and P20.4 million in 2014. In 2015, government levies collected P21.6 million and P21.5 million in 2016.