The Namibia Development Foundation (Namdef) Trust will host a two-day national conversation on responsible gambling in Windhoek next week.
This comes as concerns grow over gambling addiction and the social impact of betting in Namibia.
The Responsible Gambling Conversation is scheduled to take place from 8 to 9 June.
“The Responsible Gambling Conversation is a platform convening regulators, operators, psychologists, researchers, civil society and affected communities to engage in structured, solution-oriented dialogue,” says Namdef responsible gambling programme officer Timotheus Angala.
The discussions come amid growing concerns over the expansion of gambling, particularly through betting shops and online gambling platforms.
Angala says the event aims to initiate inclusive dialogue on responsible gambling in Namibia, strengthen prevention and early intervention measures, address workplace productivity risks linked to gambling-related stress and debt, and improve access to counselling and rehabilitation services.
The organisation hopes the discussions will generate policy recommendations to inform future planning and social protection strategies.
According to Namdef, gambling addiction has become a growing social problem, particularly among young people facing unemployment and financial hardship.
“With youth unemployment remaining high, psychologists and community leaders warn that many young Namibians, including a rising number of men, are turning to betting as an ‘income supplement’,” he says.
The foundation has raised concerns about gambling taking place in informal settings such as shebeens, bars and online platforms where consumer protection mechanisms are limited or absent.
The upcoming discussions follow recent public appeals by gambling addicts seeking stronger intervention measures.
Earlier this year, Jason Kauhondamwa (37) publicly pleaded with gambling houses to ban him from entering their premises after what he describes as delays by the Namibia Gaming and Entertainment Control Board in processing his self-exclusion request.
Kauhondamwa told The Namibian his gambling addiction began during childhood after he became fascinated by jackpot winnings he witnessed at a bar.
He said the addiction later escalated to compulsive gambling, resulting in an estimated loss of about N$500 000 over the years.
“Anytime I have money, I visit,” he said at the time.
Kauhondamwa criticised the gaming board for allegedly failing to act swiftly on his request to be registered as a restricted gambler.
In response, Namibia Gaming and Entertainment Control Board acting chief executive John Erastus says the board had considered Kauhondamwa’s application and was in the process of communicating the registration to licensed gambling establishments.
Erastus says the development of an interactive register linking licensed establishments was taking longer than expected.
Namdef says it would implement its safe gambling programme as an independent non-profit social safeguard initiative supporting responsible gambling obligations without taking on a regulatory or enforcement role.
