Anambra State government shuts down all casinos and gaming centres operating within its domain

GOVERNOR Charles Soludo of Anambra State has ordered the immediate suspension of the operations of all casinos and gaming centres in the state following allegations that they are involved in fraudulent and criminal activities.

In a statement jointly signed by Donatus Onyenji, the commissioner for culture, entertainment, tourism; Richard Madiebo, the chairman of the Anambra State Internal Revenue Service and Chikodi Angra, the commissioner for homeland affairs, they were all shut. Their statement claimed the government received a worrisome number of petitions pertaining the manipulation of casino machines and non-transparency in the payment of winnings.

According to the statement, the allegations amounted to serious abuse of global best practices in the industry which the government under the watch of Governor Soludo would not condone. It said the fraudulent practices by the gaming centres would no longer be condoned under the watch of the present administration.

Furthermore, the statement said a meeting had been called of all operatives of the gaming centres with a view to addressing issues of enumeration and validation of hotel licenses as well as security. It said hotel revalidation forms would be distributed at the venue for all categories of hotels and tourism enterprises and that any hotel that was not profiled or without a hotel license would be closed down according to the state tourism and hospitality law.

“This fraudulent practice will not be allowed to thrive under the watch of Professor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration and therefore must be dealt with immediately. Consequently, the Anambra State government hereby directs operators of casino games in hotels, restaurants and bars to suspend all gaming and casino operations with immediate effect pending the conclusion of investigations.

“The government has therefore called for a meeting of all hotel owners and managers in the state on October 21 at the Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre,” the government statement added.