Mimi Andani-Michaels, a musician and Chief Operating Officer of advertising agency M & J Ghana, is displeased with the Gaming Commission’s newly introduced guidelines that bans celebrities from advertising betting.
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.”
But Mimi in an interview with Abrantepa on GhanaWeb TV’s ‘Bloggers’ Forum’ said the development is excruciating.
“As a creative, I know how the revenue streams are very limited and slim,” she remarked. “First, it was FDA and now it’s Gaming Commission and I think it’s a big blow. We are in COVID-19 season, there are no jobs, events are not even organized, people are doing semi-body contact event, it’s not as it used to be. So if a creative can just sit home and activate somebody’s product for them online and make money, isn’t that the best way for them now?”
“All these while, why didn’t they send memos to all these betting companies to pre warn them? Why do you wait and take food out of our mouths?” Mimi wondered.
Touching on the commission’s reason for issuing the directive, Mimi stated that the approach is problematic. She could not fathom why betting would not be banned if indeed the effects were profound.
Like other showbiz personalities, Mimi called on the government to rather put in measures for the creative industry to thrive.
“If you want to say that the alcohol and the betting companies using celebrities are going to cause a lot of problems for the youth and affect the youth negatively, why not fix the industry? If the industry was good, probably, nobody would have been complaining about betting and alcohol,” she said.
“If the royalties were coming as they are supposed to, and genuinely, if we had better systems in our industry, probably, these regulations would have been understood. If you really want to help the youth, some of the youth are potential musicians, actors and all that. So if you really want to help the youth, why not fix the creative industry?” Mimi asked.
Watch the full show below:
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