The Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Mr. Mohammed Abdul-Salam, has announced a partnership with Fidelity Bank to roll out about 5,000 point-of-sale terminals to enhance its operations.
Mr. Abdul-Salam, who was answering a question on the Authority’s sales and distribution when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee, said that the Authority had put in place measures to generate more revenue and to address the activities of illegal lottery operators.
Currently, we have some equipment marked as obsolete, so we plan to replace it with new point-of-sale machines. We have an arrangement with Fidelity Bank to deploy around 5,000 new point-of-sale terminals to enhance sales and revenue. We believe that in the coming year this will significantly improve our operations,” Mr. Abdul-Salam said.
In discussing how the Authority can address the decline in lotto revenue, Mr. Abdul-Salam stated that the Authority is seeking clarification from the Attorney General on an arrangement with the Coalition of Concerned Lotto Agents and Writers Association of Ghana (CLAAG) to stamp out illegal lottery operators.
“The structure of the Private Lotto Operators (PLOs) currently makes it difficult for us to control illegal lotto operators because some of these operators were involved in illegal activities before registering. Even after licensing them, some continue to operate unlawfully.
As a result, we have entered into an arrangement with CLAAG and are consulting the Attorney General for clarification to ensure that all writers registered under the PLOs receive a sticker. Once the process is completed, enforcement agencies can ensure compliance by scanning the sticker with smart devices, making it easier to distinguish legitimate operators from illegal ones,” Mr. Abdul-Salam said.
Mr. Abdul-Salam mentioned that there are some areas where the NLA has no presence, and this has become fertile ground for illegal lottery operators. He is confident that, with the introduction of new point-of-sale terminals and as the NLA eliminates these illegal lottery operators, the new machines will be made available for others to take part in the Authority’s operations.
The NLA expects to roll out these plans in the coming year to boost its operations.
