Gaming commission ban on betting ads is a major loss - Sadiq

CEO of 3Music Awards admits that the government needs to rethink its decision to ban celebrities from advertising betting companies as it would negatively affect future events

Gaming commission ban on betting ads is a major loss - Sadiq
Sadiq Abdulai Abu

Sadiq Abdulai Abu has weighed in on the issue of the Gaming Commission ban on celebrities which stops them from advertising betting companies.

The Chief Executive Officer of 3Music Awards stated that the government needs to rethink its decision as the negative future effects it would have will be catastrophic.

He argued that the ripple effects of the decision cannot be overstated; that the focus on unhappy celebrities who have been fighting against the directive because of their own selfish interest is wrong, as that is the least aspect the government should be worried about.

According to him, if not managed right, the directive could spell the end fo the showbiz industry.

“A lot of people think that this particular regulatory activity only impacts the celebrity. It doesn’t. It has a cascading effect on even the industry,” he said on GhanaWeb TV’s ‘Bloggers’ Forum’. “Take a look at the FDA’s. It may have centred on the celebrities but goes beyond the celebrities to affect even how it’s promoted. So, we’ve gotten to a point where because of the regulation, these brands are spending quite less.”

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Sadiq further explained while speaking to the show host Abrantepa that the sponsorship obtained by events from these companies will drastically be reduced now that the betting companies know that they are no longer wanted. 

"if a particular brand is used to giving hundred thousand cedis for a particular event because there are stringent regulations that will not enable them to get the full exposure benefits, they may just give you say fifteen thousand cedis for just the experiential opportunity that your event activity gives them.”

“Even if you’re an agency and is used to doing a certain threshold of activation that will require you to leverage the arts or music, the regulation is forcing you to go into certain areas that may impact the revenue lines.”

Sadiq further tackled the notion that celebrities should "look for other revenue generation angles" as he posited that it does not make any sense to shun the betting companies from having access to celebrities if the government is not going to shut down the betting companies themselves.

"When you talk about revenue streams or channels, it also includes commercial partnerships such as this. Beyond the regular ones, this is also part of the revenue channels and all of them are very important and should be treated with all the importance they deserve. A single revenue line may not necessarily be able to sustain you,” he concluded