The new management of the National Lottery Authority says it has been able to pay about GH¢ 9million out of GH¢ 15million of unpaid wins inherited from the previous management.
This according to the authority represents 60 per cent of such unpaid wins over the period.
The Director General of the NLA, Mr Sammy Awuku, disclosed these at the State of the Agency briefing, organised by the Ministry of Information, in Accra, yesterday.
He said “I met a debt of about GH¢15,000.000.00 in unpaid wins on the assumption of office. As of now, we have cleared a greater part of the debt and we continue to make efforts together with management to clear the outstanding debt.”
Mr Awuku noted that to avert a pile up of win payments, the authority had developed the Instant Pay *389*1000# for players to instantly redeem wins of up to GH¢ 1,2000 after the draw.
“In partnership with our Corporate Lotto Marketing Companies (LMCs), we have also instituted Prize Payment Centres in our regional offices nationwide for wins up to GH¢ 12,000.00,” he said.
Mr Awuku said the authority had renegotiated its deal with KGL -KGL Group from GH ¢25,000,000.00 in 2021 to GH¢55,000,000.00.
He said out of the amount GH¢ 2,00,000.00 was used in supporting the authority’s Good Causes Foundation and GH¢3,000,000.00 for the Stabilisation Fund for our LMCs.
“In addition, we have renegotiated the deal to GH¢ 65,000,000.00 for 2023 as part of the partnership deal,” Mr Awuku explained.
The Director-General said the NLA was exporting its games to other countries for royalties, stressing that “My initial trips to Ivory Coast and Nigeria will now pay off as both countries will soon pay us royalties of GH¢18,000,000.00 and GH¢13,000,000.00 respectively, for drawing our games online through KGL Group.”
He said as a result of the deal, the NLA was expected to receive GH¢ 92, 0000,000.00 from the KGL Group this year.
Mr Awuku said the NLA had also begun engagements with Burkina Faso and Niger to trade its games and collaborate with those countries.
Touching on its operations, he said as part of measures to sanitise the lottery space and generate revenue for national development, the NLA management continued processes began by his predecessor.
These he said included; licensing Private Lotto Operators annually, adding that “Operators who want to operate under the framework of the National Lotto Act, 2006 (Act 722) pay a sum of GH¢1,500,000.00, while those who operate under the Veterans Administration Ghana Act, 2012 (Act 844) pay a sum of GH¢500,000.00 since we have their franchise to operate their games.”
In addition, Mr Awuku said Private Lotto Operators (PLOs) were also required to pay a fixed figure to support their Good Causes Foundation.
He said the authority had signed on new third party collaborators as part of measures to rake in more revenue and innovative and exciting games.
“We are also in talks with Supreme Ventures, the biggest lottery operator in the Caribbean, together with their local partner, who will introduce exciting new games that are not 5/90 in nature or form,” Mr Awuku indicated.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
