NLA increases lotto writers’ commission to 25%

…turns around financial fortunes

The National Lottery Authority (NLA) has announced a 25 per cent increase in commission paid to lotto writers’ , up from 20 per cent which will take effect at the end of August 2024,  the Board Chairman, Gary Nimako Marfo has said

In addition to the commission increment, the NLA has relaunched its Caritas Lottery platform to promote public confidence in lottery promotions and curb fraud. The platform allows organizations and individuals to conduct lottery promotions to improve their business operations.

This change, approved by the NLA Board, comes after lotto writers petitioned for a higher commission, citing economic challenges.

Mr. Nimako emphasized that the new commission rate applies only to licensed lotto companies and warned unlicensed operators that the NLA would increase its crackdown, as the 2024 election approaches.

Mr. Nimako clarified that “the new 25% commission applies only to lotto companies licensed by the NLA. The NLA would intensify its crackdown on illegal lotto operators, particularly as the 2024 election year approaches.”

Mr. Nimako went ahead to warn illegal operators who seek protection from high-ranking party and government officials that the current Board and management would not yield to such interventions.

The NLA has faced financial challenges in recent years, recording a loss of GHc788,818 in 2020 and a more significant loss of GHc17.1m (GHc17,148,582) in 2021. However, under the current Director General, Samuel Awuku, the authority has made a turnaround, posting profits of GHc2.5m and GHc2.6m.

This 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 NLA also generates income from Nigeria and Ivory Coast, where its draw results are used for local lotteries, demonstrating its regional influence.

Mr. Awuku revealed that “a task force including security personnel and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) officials will be conducting operations against illegal lotto operators.

According to him, despite the estimated GHc1.8 billion yearly value of Ghana’s lotto industry, the NLA captures only about GHc800 million, while illegal operators take in over GHc1 billion annually.

“We believe this is an opportunity for NLA to promote the benefits of lottery and diffuse misconceptions and stigma, “he mentioned.

The NLA’s turnaround and initiatives demonstrate its commitment to sanitizing the lottery space and promoting public confidence.

Mr. Awuku again noted that of the estimated 700 illegal lotto companies, mostly in rural areas, only about 20 are registered with the NLA. He also stressed the significant role of illegal lotto operators as financiers of the two major political parties in Ghana.

He stressed the importance of keeping politics from interfering with the NLA’s revenue generation efforts and ensuring that rules are applied uniformly to all operators whiles recounting how political divisions within the NLA had previously led to staff frustrations, affecting productivity.

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