Due to alleged fraudulent and criminal acts, the Anambra state government has ordered the immediate suspension of operations at all casinos and gaming centres within the state.

This was revealed in a statement jointly made by the state’s commissioner for homeland affairs, Chikodi Angra, the chairman of the Anambra state internal revenue agency, Richard Madiebo, and the commissioner for culture, entertainment, and tourism, Donatus Onyenji.

The state administration claims to have received a disturbing amount of petitions regarding the manipulation of casino machines and non-transparency in winnings payments. It said that the accusations amounted to grave violations of the industry’s best practices, which the government, led by Chukwuma Soludo, would not tolerate.

The statement read in part:

“This fraudulent practice will not be allowed to thrive under the watch of Prof Chukwuma Soludo’s administration and therefore must be dealt with immediately.

Consequently, the Anambra government hereby directs operators of casino games in Hotels, Restaurant and Bars to suspend all Gaming and Casino operations with immediate effect pending the conclusion of investigations.”

Therefore, the state government has scheduled a meeting of all hotel managers and owners on October 21 at the Dora Akunyili Women Development Center. It was stated that the necessary meeting would discuss security issues as well as the counting and verification of hotel licenses.

It stated that all types of hotels and tourism enterprises will receive hotel revalidation papers at the event, and that any establishment that was not profiled or did not have a hotel license would be forced to close in accordance with Anambra State Tourism and Hospitality Law.