NLA Loses ¢1bn to Illegal Lotto Operations

In spite of the estimated GH¢1.8 billion yearly value of Ghana’s lotto industry, the National Lottery Authority (NLA) rakes in about GH¢800 million, leaving the remaining GH¢1 billion in the hands of illegal lotto operators dotted across the country.

The Director-General of the NLA, Sammi Awuku, who disclosed this in Accra last weekend, said the authority had devised several strategies to either clamp down on illegal operators or distort their operations to enable the state to reap the full benefits of lottery proceeds.

These include a comprehensive collaborative programme with state agencies such as the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), and a new strategy to include all the national security apparatus through the formation of a special task force, to fish out and apprehend the illegal operators.

He said the NLA had also increased the commission paid to legal lottery operators from 20 per cent on a stake to 25 per cent as part of measures to make it attractive for others to join.

The authority had also devised the means to undertake its draws at unannounced times of the day in a bid to outwit the illegal operators, while working more closely with staff and the general public to intensify their support to end the illegal activities which is denying the state over a billion Ghana cedis per annum, Mr Awuku added.

The NLA Director-General was addressing senior journalists at a special Editors Forum to expose the media to activities of the NLA, the impact of illegal operators on the lottery industry as well as measures adopted to win the fight against such perpetrators in the country.

Optimism
Mr Awuku said although the NLA in the past had not been able to succeed in clamping down on the illegal operators in the country, a carefully crafted strategy had been adopted this time, based on a comprehensive study of their operations and collaborative efforts with other relevant agencies, to ensure that this time around, the strategy succeeded.

“We are ready to regularise their activities with us so they can stop their illegal activities”.

Some have joined but many more are reluctant but I can assure you that, this time around, they will not have their way because we have the full support of the President and government to undertake this comprehensive exercise in the interest of our reviving economy and the people of Ghana,” he said.

Lottery and Politics
Mr Awuku stated that of the estimated 700 illegal lotto companies, mostly in rural areas, only about 20 were registered with the NLA, a development he described as unacceptable.

He used the opportunity to indicate the significant role of illegal lotto operators as financiers of the two major political parties in Ghana and stressed the importance of keeping politics from interfering with the NLA’s revenue generation efforts while ensuring that rules are applied uniformly to all such operators.

He recounted how political divisions within the NLA had previously led to staff frustrations, affecting productivity and expressed the hope that with such a canker almost cured to restore full confidence in their ability to deliver in the national interest, NLA revenues would further increase to help accelerate national development to the benefit of all citizens.

Mr Awuku said, presently, the NLA generated income from Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire, where the NLA’s draw results were used for their local lotteries, further demonstrating the authority’s regional influence.

Financial Performance
The NLA faced financial challenges in recent years, recording a loss of GH¢788,818 in 2020 and a more significant loss of GH¢17.1 million in 2021.

However, NLA in the last couple of years paid the debt in full and managed a turnaround in 2022, posting a profit of GH¢2.5 million and GH¢2.6 million last year.

The recovery followed a substantial increase in miscellaneous income, which rose from GH¢35.54 million in 2020 to GH¢133.45 million in 2023.

The Board Chairman of the NLA, Gary Nimako Marfo, further clarified that the new 25 per cent commission applied only to lotto companies licensed by the NLA.

He also emphasised that the NLA would intensify its crackdown on illegal lotto operators, particularly as the general election was approaching.

He warned illegal operators who seek protection from high-ranking party and government officials that the current board and management would not yield to such interventions which only made a few rich at the expense of the whole nation.

Source: Graphic