Gaming Commission’s guidelines on betting ads have cascading effects on the industry – Sadiq

Chief Executive Officer of 3Music Awards, Sadiq Abdulai Abu has raised concern about the Gaming Commission’s decision to banned celebrities from advertising betting.

The event organizer making a strong case for a review of the directive said just like the Food and Drugs Authority’s, the showbiz industry will be badly affected. He posited that although there are suggestions that some celebrities are unhappy about the directive because of their parochial interest, the ripple effect on the arts cannot be over-emphasized.

“A lot of people think that this particular regulatory activity only impacts the celebrity. It doesn’t. It has a cascading effect on even the industry,” he said on GhanaWeb TV’s ‘Bloggers’ Forum’. “Take a look at the FDA’s. It may have centered on the celebrities but goes beyond the celebrities to affect even how it’s promoted. So, we’ve gotten to a point where because of the regulation, these brands are spending quite less.”

Arguing further, Sadiq told show host Abrantepa that “if a particular brand is used to giving hundred thousand cedis for a particular event, because there are stringent regulations that will not enable them to get the full exposure benefits, they may just give you say fifteen thousand cedis for just the experiential opportunity that your event activity gives them.”

“Even if you’re an agency and is used to doing a certain threshold of activation that will require you to leverage the arts or music, the regulation is forcing you to go into certain areas that may impact the revenue lines.”

The Gaming Commission of Ghana under its supervisory mandate drawn from Section 3 (2) (g) of the Gaming Act, 2006 (Act 721), last week, released guidelines on advertising for operators of games of chance, including banning betting companies from using celebrities in their advertisement or as ambassadors.

According to the commission, the decision “is to ensure that advertisements by operators are conducted in a responsible manner devoid of promises of any predetermined outcomes, appeals/enticements to Gamble to the vulnerable in society as well as minimise exposure to minors where applicable.”

It comes after the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) barred celebrities from advertising alcoholic beverages for same.

While some celebrities have bared their teeth at the commission for shrinking their incomes, they have been advised to rather focus on core revenue generation angles and ensure that the broken systems in the industry are fixed.

That suggestion has however been shot down by Sadiq.

He said: “When you talk about revenue streams or channels, it also includes commercial partnerships such as this. Beyond the regular ones, this is also part of the revenue channels and all of them are very important and should be treated with all the importance they deserve. A single revenue line may not necessarily be able to sustain you.”