New Law Sets Rules For Beauty Pageants, Others

Under a new law, Gaming Act 2006, anyone wishing to organise a game of chance including beauty contests, sales promotion, television reality shows and SMS quiz games will need to acquire authorisation from the Gaming Commission first.

Recurring contestants’ complaints about non-delivery of promised prizes, viewers’ doubts over transparency in the scoring of television reality shows and public concerns over the methods used to determine games of chance using mobile phone SMS could be things of the past.

A not-so-new law, Gaming Act 2006, which revised and consolidates the laws relating to gaming activities is beginning to flex its muscle with the coming into being of the Gaming Commission under the Ministry of Interior whose business is to regulate, control, monitor and supervise the operation of games of chance in this country.

Under the law anyone wishing to organise a game of chance including beauty contests, sales promotion, television reality shows and SMS quiz games will need to acquire authorisation from the Gaming Commission first.

For the past few years, considerable furore has been raised in public over unpaid prizes for beauty pageant winners. In one case, a reigning Miss Ghana had to go to court to claim her prize and in another, the organisers resorted to paying the prize in instalments.

In yet another pageant, the contestants were told after the show that they should consider their participation as charity.

“That will not happen again, the Gaming Commissioner Mr Alex Baafour Gyimah told Showbiz, “My office demands that any organiser of such a pageant has to come to talk with us.”

Mr Gyimah said that game of chance organisers are expected to meet three simple requirements. First they are to visit the offices of the Gaming Commission located in Fortune House on the premises of the Department of National Lotteries in Accra to present their proposal to the commission. “At this stage, we will discuss the proposal and determine whether the game can be run.

The second requirement is for the organisers to apply in writing stating the nature of the game, the prizes to be given and the manner in which winners will be determined. Organisers are expected to pay GH¢50 as application fee.

Finally, the organisers are expected to convince the commission that they are adequately resourced to carry out the game of chance and be ready to pay five percent of the net value of prizes to the commission after the event.

“Our job is to protect the public,” Mr Gyimah said. “Our intention is neither to discourage people from going into promotions nor to criminalise promotions” but he was quick to add that the commission has the authority to invoke sanctions for non-compliance as set out in the Gaming Act.

Mr Gyimah expressed satisfaction with the co-operation that his office has so far engaged with almost all of the television stations which carry reality shows on their networks. He said that since the commission sent letters round a few months ago, all prospective organisers of reality shows on television have been to the commission to discuss their shows and to seek authority.

Only a few months old, the commission is yet to take off strongly but even at this stage, Mr Gyimah appears quite satisfied with what has been achieved with regard to their monitoring and supervisory roles.

“We have been quite busy poring over newspaper adverts, listening to radio and watching television for news of any game of chance activities and it is in the interest of organisers and promoters to talk to us first to avoid having their programmes brought to an abrupt end”, Mr Gyimah said.

“We expect honest dealings on the part of game organisers and not to take the public for granted.

Story by Nana Banyin Dadson

Source: Modern Ghana