About this app
About Laughing Buddha
While appearing before Navarro on Thursday, Rashid admitted to a series of breaches of his supervised release that prosecutors said showed he had not reformed.
They included tampering with a witness, lying to probation officers about a cell phone, illegally recording a phone call, maintaining a concealed “sex room” inside his home, failing a drug test, and associating with a convicted felon.
Navarro told Rashid she doubted his claims of rehabilitation, saying she was “very disappointed” and “not sure I believe” he is a changed person.
How to play Laughing Buddha
“It would be crazy to say that these cases are positive for the industry,” he says. “They will no doubt continue, but as an industry we need to try to reduce their frequency.”
Enforcement publicity may lack context, and some settlements may involve errors rather than systemic recklessness. But the sector cannot control how its opponents use these cases. It can only reduce the supply.
At a moment when the industry needs to persuade politicians that regulated gambling is capable of managing risk responsibly, repeated failures in long-established areas such as AML and safer gambling amount to political self-harm.
What is Laughing Buddha?
He warns governments and policymakers often misunderstand the primary causes of problem gambling, and therefore enforce measures that squeeze licensed operators and drive the illegal market.
For the AiA, however, the longer-term ambition for Africa Safer Gambling Week extends beyond reducing the size of the offshore market.
Kesitilwe says the AiA also wants to develop a clearer picture of problem gambling across Africa and use that evidence to support engagement with governments and policymakers.
