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During a session of the House Audit Committee last Thursday, members of parliament (MPs), the Data Protection Commissioner and representatives from the Welfare Benefits Administration Service (WBAS), the Gaming & Casino Supervision Commission and the National Betting Authority (NBA) convened to discuss ways to identify and restrict gambling activity among GMI beneficiaries, as reported by Cyprus Mail.
While the intention is to protect vulnerable households and ensure welfare is spent on essential needs, proposed measures are being complicated by legal, technical and privacy obstacles.
Harris Tsangarides, executive director of the Gaming & Casino Supervision Commission, said his department had noticed spikes in gambling activity coinciding with GMI payment dates, prompting the regulator to consider “technical solution” to cross-reference GMI beneficiary lists with casino membership records.
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He believes the success of Africa Safer Gambling Week will largely be assessed on whether that channelisation improves by the next edition.
He warns governments and policymakers often misunderstand the primary causes of problem gambling, and therefore enforce measures that squeeze licensed operators and drive the illegal market.
For the AiA, however, the longer-term ambition for Africa Safer Gambling Week extends beyond reducing the size of the offshore market.
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Ten committee members, spanning the full political spectrum, addressed a number of research papers, sector activity reports and Justice State Secretary KT van Bruggen’s April 2026-dated letter, assessing the risks of gambling, and acknowledging the KSA’s estimation that channelisation had dropped below 50%.
While there were differing views on much of the content, one area in which Dutch MPs were united was the illegal market.
The majority of parties, including those representing the ChristenUnie, PRO and SGP, all voiced their opinions that increased enforcement against black market operators should be carried out.
