As part of its efforts in ensuring that the Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs) of the state is given a boost the Imo State House of Assembly, on Thursday, last week, during its plenary-session, considered for third reading, a bill for a law presented by the member representing Mbaitoli state-constituency, Hon. Ifeanyi Nnataraonye (Olugbu), seeking to regulate activities of the pooling and Gaming Board in Imo State.
Speaking in defence of the bill with a long title “A bill for a law to repeal lotteries, pools-betting, gaming and casino promotion and control, and enact the lotteries, pools-betting, gaming and casino promotion control Board in Imo State, and other related matters”, as presented by the Hon. Nnataraonye, the Mbaitoli-State lawmaker, informed the Assembly led by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Acho Ihim, that the essence is to regain and recover lost revenues accrued to the state in the pooling and gaming subsector of the Imo State economy.
Hon. Nnataraonye, further, emphasized, while urging the state House of Assembly colleagues to lend unflinching support to the bill, that owners of pooling, gaming, casimos, sports’ bets (Naira-Bet, Bet-Niger) and lotteries’ outfits are foreigners based in Europe and the Australia sub-continent, as he regretted that, these gaming entities (companies) have sapped the state’s economy to stupor without commensurate taxes due to government of Imo State. He, maintained that, the pooling and gaming promoters had continued to milk their stakers (Imo citizens) without returns.
Lending their support for the bill, described as an ‘all important one’ in the crusade to salvage the dwindling economy in the face of the national economic down-turn Hon. Lugard Osuji (Majority leader), suggested that, since, nobody who wins pool has ever paid tax to government, promoters of the agencies must live up to their social-corporate responsibilities.
While, Hon. Donatus Onuigwe (Oru-West) emphasized on the need to regulate the board’s activities in the state, as to suit the state’s economy, Hon. Arthur Egwim (Ideato North), lamented the social and moral decadence associated with the proliferation of gaming and pooling outlets, especially, the sports’ Bets (Bet 9ja Naira-Bet) among others which he added, has constituted majority of Imo youths nuisance and lazy-minded people.
However, the state legislature, having expressed its awareness that, most pooling and gaming agencies in the state do not have operational licences, the Assembly constituted a committee chaired by Hon. Donatus Onuigwe. Members are; Hon. Ifeanyi Nnataraonye, Hon. Marcel Odunze, Hon. Ikechukwu Amuka, Hon. Arthur Egwim and Hon. Lugard Osuji. The committee was charged to doctor the bill and get back to it on Monday, May, 16, 2016.
