For some time now the influx of betting activities especially among the youth has become a topical issue within the public sphere. Politicians, and traditional and religious leaders among high-profile figures in the country have expressed grave concern about the high patronage of betting in the country.
There is no doubt that online sports betting in Ghana has come a long way in the last few years, with over 20 betting companies operating in the country today.
There is a good mix of local and international betting sites in Ghana, giving bettors a nice variety of options to choose from making betting activities in the country more accessible than ever. Today, there is a betting point in almost every corner of the country, especially in the urban areas.
The people of Ghana are serious fans of sports, especially football. It is the most popular sport and the youth mostly enjoy the sports juxtapose this to betting in Ghana, especially in the English Premier League even though the online betting companies in Ghana offer all kinds of bets.
According to a report by TGM Research (an international market research expert, specialised in multi-country online research) about 41.7 per cent of Ghanaians were involved in sports betting in late 2022. According to the report, the youth between the ages of 15 and 40 are seriously and vigorously engaged in betting activities.
Betting is a form of gambling. It is the “wagering of something of value on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted.”
Until recently gambling and betting for that matter, were not as popular in African countries such as Ghana as they are in Europe. However, in a handful of countries like Ghana, they are very popular now.
The gambling industry in Ghana just started within the last decade but has boomed so fast with many youth joining daily. This has encouraged betting companies to flood the market with their products and services with over 20 local and international betting companies in Ghana today and still counting. Most of these also apart from these provide avenues for online betting activities.
Experts say there are hundreds of international casino brands operating in the country in addition to these. The emergence of online betting appears as a more recent phenomenon in Ghana. As recently as 2015, only four per cent of the population had access to the internet. However, by 2017, more than a third of the country’s population had access to the internet.
A flurry of online casinos and betting companies started their operations in the country to cater to this growing audience. The offline betting companies went online too. Betting is therefore done almost every time and everywhere. The youth in the churches pretend to be using Bibles and hymn books on their phones but ironically seriously engage in betting while church service continues.
Online betting can be placed as a social media activity which provides some form of benefits such as feeling more connected to other peers. However, it can have risks as well, such as negative impacts on finances and mental health. Betting like social media plays a large role in the lives of youths today.
Even though the Gaming Act 2006 (Act 721) part 2 section 48 prohibits minors from engaging in betting which is also gambling.
Generally, gambling activities in Ghana are regulated primarily by three broad regulations – the Casino Licensing Act 1975, the Gambling Machines Act 1973, and the Lotteries Betting Act 1960. While there are no laws specifically enacted to regulate online betting activity, all forms of online betting are regulated under these three regulations.
The regulations on sports betting – be it online or offline – are generally more relaxed in Ghana than they are in many of the European countries. The reason for this is that the Ghanaians have a fun-loving and ‘party’ lifestyle.
So, gambling and sports betting activities are now embedded in their country’s culture and lifestyle. For this reason, Ghana is one of the top destinations for European sports betting companies to get a license. They use the license from the Gaming Commission of Ghana to cater to players from many countries in Europe.
Undoubtedly, gambling and betting for that matter is on the rise among teenagers and expect say between 60 percent and 80 percent of high school students report having gambled for money in the past year. Some of the students sometimes take serious risks by using their school fees and other monies to bet with the hope of getting more.
Gambling issues are increasingly becoming a challenge to not only parents but government. This therefore needs to be taken seriously, as it can be extremely damaging, especially for young people.
Today’s youth live in a society where gambling is not only socially acceptable but has been made attractive and accessible and widely promoted by the betting companies to woe more youth into it. Gambling is portrayed in the media as being a glamorous activity that can make one a lot of money.
However, gambling can lead to serious consequences, including relationship problems, academic problems, financial problems, and more.
Betting can cause low self-esteem, stress, anxiety and depression when it becomes a problem. Gambling can become an addiction, just like drugs or alcohol, if one uses it compulsively or feels out of control.
Recently the government of Ghana introduced a new measure that will see a 10% tax applied to betting and lottery winnings.
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has outlined that this withholding tax will be automatically deducted at the point of payout for all betting, games, and lottery wins.
According to the GRA, this tax implementation is expected to enhance domestic tax revenue mobilization. While the GRA comes out with this reason, government officials reckon that the move is to discourage the high incidence of betting among the youth.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) on the other hand argues that the 10% tax disproportionately affects young Ghanaians who are engaged in betting as a form of entertainment and, in some cases, livelihood. The party’s dissatisfaction with the tax, stating that the determination to protect the funds ‘Young People’ secure through betting is unyielding.
This makes the issue turn sour. Sour because the politicians have taken over and in Ghana, everything and anything that is politicised never gets the best of treatment.
This is a national cancer that needs all hands and minds to uproot from the very fabric of society.
Whether we like it or not it is an identified problem. A problem of huge magnitude that could jeopardise the very future of the country. What we need to do now as a country is to unite over this matter and focus on it without emotions.
We need to have a way to listen to these teaming youth buy into their concerns and strategise to help address the concerns.
The country has no other option than to generate a solution to this menace if we don’t have solutions already, by putting pragmatic processes in place. We can’t avoid stopping this once and for all.
Betting companies should not ruin the future of our youth and make millions into their countries. This is unacceptable and government needs to do all within its power to go beyond putting taxes on betting and gambling winnings. There is more to be done to save the future of the youth in this country.
The gambling industry in Ghana just started within the last decade but has boomed so fast with many youth joining in daily.
BY NANA SAFI TWUM (PHD)
