Awuku pulls lottery big bosses to Ghana

Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) Samuel Awuku has been successful in his bid to make Ghana the host country of the coveted African Lottery Association’s (ALA) seminar on ‘Responsible Gamming’ slated for December 2022.

This December, giants and experts from the lottery industry across Africa would be meeting in Ghana to brainstorm and compare notes on trials and triumphs of the sector to adopt the best practices.

The seminar coincides with NLA’s 60th Anniversary Celebration.

Mr. Awuku chalked this success to host the seminar on heels of a significant achievement in February this year when he was able to get the ALA to readmit Ghana as a member in good standing.

Ghana’s suspension as a member of the ALA affected the country adversely as the Association plays a vital role in helping members share their experiences with other lotteries and sister Associations.

The  objective  is to  encourage mutual technical and educational assistance among member states and by participating in the integration of the African economy by instituting pan-African games; and in the socioeconomic advancement of various priority sectors.

The NLA Director-General, Samuel Awuku, disclosed that Ghana would be hosing the next ALA seminar just after he returned from

Samuel Awuku made the disclosure after his return from an official trip to  Morocco where the Authority was the NLA was the only Anglophone country among the ALA bodies to participate in the Finale of the African Grand Prix of horse racing.

The African Grand Prix is an annual event that celebrates and highlights the importance of horse racing in sports lottery on the African Continent.

Morocco hosted the 10th edition of the African Grand Prix, the first time the event has moved out to Africa since France started hosting from 2012.

This year’s Grand Prix was organized by the Societe Royale d’ Encouragement du Cheval, SOREC (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Horses) in conjunction with ALA.

Managing Director of SOREC, Mr. Omar Skalli who underscored the success of the event believes hosting the event in Morocco “makes it possible to participate in the international influence of the African horse racing sector”.

President of ALA and Director-General of the Loterie Nationale de Cote d’Ivoire LONACI, Mr. Dramane Coulibaly, on his part says the event will promote attractive and responsible games on the continent while fostering solidarity and cooperation among member countries.

Prior to the Grand Prix, a Seminar was held under the theme “Digitalization in Africa and the lottery sector in a ‘post-COVID era’.  Presentations covered Digital Lottery, Cyber Security, Reforms within the African Lottery Authority, Looking into the future with e-Commerce amongst others.

The Director-General of NLA, Mr. Samuel Awuku stated that the Authority is seeking to collaborate with its African counterparts in areas of mutual interest, to shore up its revenue base.

Mr. Awuku also emphasized the need for the Authority to explore Sports lottery to complement its 5-90 Game.  He is therefore in talks with the Director General of SOREC, Mr. Driss Belghazi as well as the Secretary General for ALA and CEO of La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports, (MDJS) Mr. Younes El Mechrafi, who have great expertise in this area  to assist NLA.

Mr. Awuku also disclosed that while NLA is looking forward to these discussions as well as hosting the ALA Seminar in December, the Authority would begin the process to improve its certification from Level 1 to Level 3 by the end of the year.

As a follow up to the discussions in Morocco, Madame Habsou Ali and Madame Aminata Sylla, Lottery CEOs of Niger and Guinea Conakry respectively, would in the coming weeks pay a working visit to NLA, to acquaint themselves with the Authority’s operations and have further discussions on how the Authority can help them operate the 5-90 Game both manually and digitally.