NLA to chase banker-to-banker operators

The National Lottery Authority (NLA) has indicated that it will soon clamp down on the activities of illegal lotto operators, popularly called banker-to-banker, to help generate revenue for national development.

Director-General of NLA, Kofi Osei-Ameyaw, disclosed this in a discourse with members of the Association of Lotto Marketing Companies (ALMC), who paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Accra to applaud him on his appointment.

He said the NLA would establish and deploy a Lotto Taskforce to arrest the wayside operators.

Those who would flout the law would be prosecuted in Lotto Courts to be established nationwide.

Dan Mensah, Chairman of ALMC, said the association would work closely with him to support his vision to promote the operations of NLA.

Members of ALMC also appealed to the Director-General to address some bottlenecks hampering their business.

According to them, banker-to-banker operators do not honour taxes on their earnings and swindle patrons by refusing to pay them each time they win.

Members of the Association also decried the tax on lotto wins, which discourages players from patronizing NLA products and encourages them to rather play Banker to Banker.

Mr. Osei-Ameyaw thanked the members of ALMC for their support and promised to work with them to further develop NLA in line with the vision of President Akufo-Addo to generate revenue for the country.

He further assured them that he would address the issue of taxes on wins, commissions and other issues stifling their business.

“We would provide them with model kiosks which will appeal to the player while decentralizing the business in all regions and districts,” he said.

He promised to hold periodic meetings with ALMC to update them on progress made so far.