Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Sammi Awuku has stated that his outfit will be reviewing an existing agreement with the KGL Technology for online gaming.
Under the current contract, KGL is required to pay NLA GH¢20 million, GH¢25 million, 20% of gross sales from 2022-2026 and 25% of gross sales from 2027-2031.
However, the new NLA Director-General Mr Awuku has served notice that the Authority will not accept anything less than GH¢45 million from KGL in 2022.
According to him, it has become imperative to get a good deal for the NLA following the two-year piloting of online gaming.
Mr Awuku reiterated that the starting point for any contractual discussion beyond 31st December 2021 on the online gaming with KGL Technologies is a minimum of GH¢45 million.
The company, he said, would also be expected to make a minimum payment of GH¢3 million stabilization fund to support the Lotto Marketing Companies (LMCs).
Speaking at a media forum for Editors and senior journalists in Accra on Saturday, Mr Awuku said it is imperative to support the retailers because they have been with the Authority for 59 years of its existence.
Mr Awuku stated that the NLA has already engaged KGL and is expecting feedback on the matter.
He argued that as the company looks at making gains as a commercial entity, it also owes responsibility towards these loyalists who have been with them through thick and thin.
“So making a case for an additional GH¢3 million on top of the GH¢45 million, plus a GH¢2 million commitment towards “Good Causes”, anything below that and the present management and the board will have to sign it on their own,” he warned.
He averred that the KGL contract has been addressed and stressed that by 15th December, the Board would have concluded its deliberation but indicated the NLA will not accept anything below GH¢45 million.
Mr Awuku issued a stern warning to the NLA collaborators that the Authority will not countenance contractual breaches any longer.
The Authority, he said, has the mandate to enter into third-party contracts but stressed this is for the sole purpose of raising revenue to support the mentally and physically afflicted and the vulnerable.
Mr Awuku noted that people take the licence to collaborate and yet that is not what they do and stressed some of them have to go in order to bring in more serious people.
He noted that the lottery is a big boys’ game and therefore nobody is being forced to come into the space.
According to him, data indicates private lotto operations that control about 70% of the informal sector brought in just GH¢13 million as their contribution and stressed even with that the NLA had to go back and forth for some differences to be resolved before receiving the money.
“I cannot understand why we can also have a situation where the informal sector where a majority of our business is being conducted across the country, they only contributed GH¢13 million to NLA.
“And so I also introduced some new measures to sanitise the system without fear or favour. We began a pre-qualification licensing period and people were allowed to come to pick the forms for free.
“I think some people thought it was a joke and a passing disturbance. 140 came forward and we had about 70 been disqualified after the first phase. In the second phase, we also needed to check the background of some of these entities because some could be coming to do money laundering and hiding behind lotto or lottery operations. So we scaled it down to about 38 and now we have a total of 14 properly qualified.”
According to him, the NLA charged GH¢1.5 million and for those who operate the 844, they are charged GH¢500,000.
No NPP, NDC politics
Mr. Awuku noted that when he was appointed to the NLA he was clear in his mind he is there to raise revenue and not to supervise a New Patriotic Party (NPP)/National Democratic Congress (NDC) game.
According to him, he does not need to convince anyone he is neutral because he is not but stressed that between 8:00am and 5:00pm, his job is to raise revenue and not to dabble in political matters and therefore within this period he makes no distinction between NPP or NDC person.
