Mimi Andani-Michaels has hit out at the government for what she describes as a calculated strategy "to take food out of the mouths of celebrities."

The Chief Operating Officer of advertising agency M & J Ghana expressed her displeasure at the Gaming Commission's recent decision to ban celebrities from representing betting companies.

According to the Gaming Commission of Ghanaian, under its supervisory mandate drawn from Section 3 (2) (g) of the Gaming Act, 2006 (Act 721), all celebrities can no longer advertise gambling affiliated institutions.

This, it said "is to ensure that advertisements by operators are conducted in a responsible manner devoid of promises of any predetermined outcomes, appeals/enticements to Gamble to the vulnerable in society as well as minimise exposure to minors where applicable.”

Mimi, in an interview with Abrantepa on GhanaWeb TV’s ‘Bloggers’ Forum’ has described the move as an act of wickedness.

READ ALSO:

Stacy Amoateng is the African Super Woman of the Year

“As a creative, I know how the revenue streams are very limited and slim,” she remarked. “First, it was FDA and now it’s Gaming Commission and I think it’s a big blow. We are in COVID-19 season, there are no jobs, events are not even organized, people are doing semi-body contact event, it’s not as it used to be. So if a creative can just sit home and activate somebody’s product for them online and make money, isn’t that the best way for them now?”

“All these while, why didn’t they send memos to all these betting companies to pre-warn them? Why do you wait and take food out of our mouths?”

She pointed out that if betting was so injurious to the health of the general public, the government should ban them directly.

If you want to say that the alcohol and the betting companies using celebrities are going to cause a lot of problems for the youth and affect the youth negatively, why not fix the industry? If the industry was good, probably, nobody would have been complaining about betting and alcohol,” she said.

“If the royalties were coming as they are supposed to, and genuinely, if we had better systems in our industry, probably, these regulations would have been understood. If you really want to help the youth, some of the youth are potential musicians, actors and all that. So if you really want to help the youth, why not fix the creative industry?”