By Doreen Ampofo
Students of the Sempe Basic School in Jamestown, Accra, have received educational supplies from the Gaming Commission. The gesture which forms part of the Gaming Awareness Month was also used to sensitize the children on Gaming Act 721 which makes it illegal for children below 18 to engage in gaming or betting. It was revealed that six out every 10 pupils in the school engage in the practice.
This comes in the wake of a recent study conducted by the Baraka Policy Institute in selected communities in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale indicated that children between the ages of 10 and 17 were actively engaged in sports betting. This is despite the Gaming Act 2006 (Act 721) which prohibits persons under 18 years from engaging in betting and gambling.
The sensitization of students at Jamestown by the Gaming Commission follows a collaborative work with EOCO which identified the community as one with many young people engaged in gambling. Deputy Gaming Commissioner, Kobby Annan cautioned the students to refrain from engaging in gambling and instead focus on their books. He indicated that any person below the age of 18 caught gaming or gambling will be arrested and sent to the juvenile correctional center.
“As children you must understand that Gaming is not for you or any underaged person. The law says any such person caught in the act should be dealt with together with the adult who allowed them to engage in gambling. So we will arrest you,” Mr Annan noted.
Mr Annan explained that the Gaming Commission set up the month of September as the Gaming awareness month to sensitize the public especially the children to understand that Gaming is not a money-making business but rather a leisure for responsible adults.
“We have chosen Sempe Basic School because we see James Town as one of the prone areas where the children are vulnerable. This period was chosen because September is back to school period and August is when the premiere leagues, both local and foreign leagues begin, where there is a lot of sports betting,” he noted.
The Deputy Gaming Commissioner called on parents and teachers to support in educating the children.
Headmistress of the Sempe D/A Basic School, Augustina Gyamera said gambling is a major challenge affecting performance. She said the students engage in it regularly especially when they get to the JHS. This is because they are left to fend for themselves.
Madam Gyamera explained that “a lot of them have to do everything for themselves including feeding. Even to get money for school is a problem. When they close and they go home, most of the time they are always there at the gaming centers. You call them and some of them will be bold to tell you that madam if I don’t do it, I won’t get money for school, even to buy food to eat.”
The over 430 students received books and educational materials. They were grateful to the Gaming Commission for the gesture and pledged to abstain from betting or gambling. The Gaming Commission is extending the gesture to other deprived schools across the country.