All high-low lottery gambling houses operated by Asians in the Eastern Highlands province will cease operation by March 1. The EH provincial executive council put a blanket ban on lottery in the province. A strong advocate against high-low gambling, Thompson Harokaqveh, announced that there had been a decision to ban the lottery. This brought a round of applause from the public. Harokaqveh said he moved for the ban because gambling has attracted a lot of people from rural areas into Goroka town to play the game and most had neglected their work in the villages especially gardening and manning their livestock. The gambling had made the town filthy, he said, so there was need to stop it.
