GLOA Lauds NLA For PPP Initiative

The Ghana Lotto Operators Association (GLOA), operators of private lotteries in Ghana, has lauded the National Lottery Authority (NLA) for its public-private-partnership initiative aimed at lifting the ban on private participation in lottery in the country.

By this initiative, members of GLOA would be allowed to operate their respective lotteries under the supervision of the National Lottery Authority, after an application for a license, and a fee of One Million Ghana Cedis (GH¢1 Million) had been paid.

The initiative was finalized on Tuesday at a meeting organized by the Authority with private lotto operators in the country.

Speaking to the media on the development, Mr. Dan Borsor, GLOA Chairman, commended the NLA for the bold initiative of involving private lotto operators in lotteries in the country.

He said, given the fact that, GLOA members have the potential of employing huge numbers of unemployed Ghanaians, the decision by the Authority was a laudable one that had to be encouraged and sustained, and indicated that the initiative would also go a long way in helping raise revenue to support government projects and programmes.

He was, however, of the view that, the license fee of GH¢1 million was on the high side and pleaded with the NLA to reconsider its decision on the amount.

According to him, if the fee is not reviewed downwards, it could have the potential of pushing a lot more of GLOA members out of the contention, since they may not be able to raise the amount.

“The GHC 1 million is on the high side,” the GLOA Chairman noted and added that, “we urge NLA to be flexible on its licensing regime so that, a lot more of our members could come on board.”

He said: “Even with our proposal of GH¢500,000, if it had been accepted, that would have meant that, some of our members were going to swallow the bitter pill, but it would have been a better option than the current figure, which may prevent many people from operating private lotto in the country.”

For his part, Mr. Seth Amoani, Secretary of GLOA, thanked the NLA for the initiative and the willingness to work with private lotto operators under a public-private –partnership arrangement, which is supported by Section 2(2) of Act 722 of 2006.

“We accept the licensing regime but we appeal to the NLA to consider the circumstances of each of our members under the licensing regime and to treat each member, taking into consideration their peculiar circumstances,” he said.

Mr. Noah Afonope of Star Lotto also told journalists that, “the GH¢1 million may scare some of our members from being licensed in view of the difficulties in raising such a huge amount,” and noted that, this may compel some members to go underground, and thereby prevent the nation from realizing the needed revenues.