Judge Nate Ndauendapo of Namibia High Court has ordered that licensed gaming facilities pay levies on their profits to the gambling board in accordance with the law.
Additionally, Ndauendapo has ordered the Gambling House Association of Namibia and its members to pay levies on their profits from gambling activities with effect from December 2021, together with interest on those levies.
Judge Nate Ndauendapo issued the order after dismissing the Gambling House Association of Namibia’s application to declare that the minister of environment and tourism may not impose any levies on licensed gambling houses until all illegal gambling houses in Namibia have either been legalised or closed.
The Association also asked the High Court to declare that part of the Gaming and Entertainment Control Act of 2018, enacted in December 2021, was unconstitutional, but the request was unsuccessful.
In addition to the licenses for gambling houses and casinos listed in the Gaming and Entertainment Control Act, that section of the law grants the minister of environment and tourism the authority to determine what other licenses may be granted under the act.
A settlement agreement in a previous High Court case served as the foundation for a significant part of the Association’s claim, which asked the court to direct the minister to take action against operators of unlawful gambling houses in accordance with the Casinos and Gambling Houses Act of 1994.
In his ruling, Judge Ndauendapo pointed out that the 2018 act, which established a new framework for regulating gaming in Namibia, superseded the settlement agreement.
According to Nate Ndauendapo, the court is unable to sustain and implement the settlement agreement because the gambling board was not a party to the case in which it was reached and the new legislation has taken effect.
He added: “By upholding the settlement agreement, the judiciary will be usurping the powers delineated by the Constitution to the legislature. With the introduction of the 2018 law, the 1994 Casinos and Gambling Houses Act was abolished, and, consequently, the settlement agreement and court order of June 2020 have fallen away by operation of law.”
He pointed out that under the 2018 law, the minister might exempt specific types of gaming machines, people, or activities from the law’s requirements.
He turned down the Association’s application against the gambling board, the environment and tourism ministry, and other parties with cost.