Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Sammy Awuku, has disclosed that almost 1 billion Ghana Cedis of his outfit’s estimated annual revenue is lost to illegal lottery operators.
Speaking during the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament, Mr. Awuku hinted that, about 780 illegal operating lottery companies have been identified and their operation is affecting the authority significantly.
He further revealed that political interference has been a major problem hindering the authority in terms of finding solutions to curb unlawful operations.
“In the Supreme Court decision, they asked the NLA to also be fair and allow people to participate. However, they should be fair and transparent in their regulation. So, yes, we have activities of illegal lottery. It is the biggest monster in the room, and it will need a bipartisan effort to root out.”
“You go after these illegal lottery operators, and they are more or less political affiliations to the two major political parties in Ghana. Mr. Chairman, respectfully, your party and my party. You keep having pleas from both sides, but we have been resolute. So, we have been resolute in stamping our feet.”
“We have an estimated 780 illegal operating lottery companies in Ghana. Ghana’s lottery field is estimated by the World Lottery Association to reach 1.8 billion cedis a year. Out of this, about a billion is in the hands of the illegals. They don’t pay taxes.”
“You don’t own them, You go after them, and it becomes a political matter. But now we have decided that in helping us get to that revenue mobilization point if you are not licensed to operate the lottery, we won’t allow you to operate,” Sammy Awuku said.
