Praia, Cape Verde, 21 Oct – Cape Verde’s Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Energy (MTIE) is preparing the groundwork for casino gaming to complement the country’s tourism potential, the government announced in Praia.

In communiqué released on Wednesday, the government indicated that two top MTIE officials attended a month-and-a-half long intensive course on “games of chance and fortune” in Portugal and Macau, with a view to preparing personnel for the future Inspectorate General of Gaming (IGJ).

The training of future IGJ personnel follows the recent approval of a legislative modification meant to make gaming “more attractive for small investors, accommodating some situations”, without however “jeopardising the safety and credibility” of Cape Verde’s jurisdiction.

The document recalls that the changed legislation also aims to ensure that the activity develops in an atmosphere of legality and transparency, at a time when the government is preparing to launch tenders to grant concessions for “gaming zones” that will be overseen by a body of duly prepared inspectors.

Last 29 April the island country’s parliament amended the 2005 law regulating the legal basis for operating games of chance or fortune.

The new law ended the exclusive concession of contracts to operate games and also made flexible the amounts due to the state in order to open such establishments. (macauhub)