A press statement by the Ghana Lotto Operators Association (GLOA) has urged stakeholders, media, and the general public not to compare the GH¢44.9 million paid by some 29 licensed Private Lotto Operators to the NLA to the over GH¢173 million paid by KGL to the same institution.
The Association also confirmed that KGL is the largest contributor to NLA in terms of revenue generation for the Republic.
According to Section 2(1) of the National Lotto Act, 2006(Act 722), “National Lotto shall be conducted for the purpose of RAISING REVENUE for the NATION and for other purposes stated in this Act.”
Therefore, per Section 2(1) of Act 722, KGL has proven its worth in salt by helping the NLA to fulfil its number one (1) objective for which the Authority was established.
KGL operates as a collaborator under the same National Lotto Act, specifically Section 2(4) of the National Lotto Act, 2006(Act 722).
Members of GLOA and all other Private Lotto Operators are supposed to be licensed and regulated by the NLA under Section 22(1) of the Veterans Administration, Ghana Act, 2012(Act 844).
Staking of lottery by a Ghanaian citizen is an Optional duty, not mandatory like payment of taxes to GRA. It takes extremely huge investments into modern I.T. infrastructure, software systems integrations, ISO Certifications, and marketing to achieve the needed results in the mobile-based transactions. Also, attaining competitive advantage in that space is not by mouth but an expensive capital investment of about $500 million to $1billion to have the kind of Infrastructure architecture that KGL is currently operating in partnership with the NLA.
It is untrue for anyone to say that access to a dedicated USSD platform substantially expands transaction volumes while reducing operational complexity. If that is the case, then NLA would have been successful with the MOBI GAME 2 SURE in 2008, and MOBILE 5/90 between 2015 – 2017.
NLA through a collaborator started the operation of MOBILE 5/90 in 2015 and the revenues generated for 2015, 2016, and 2017 are respectively GH¢517,967.50, GH¢1,259,185.10, and GH¢ 367, 812.30.
Due to the poor performance of the MOBILE 5/90, the NLA ceased its operations in 2017.
Again, the revenue generated by USSD/MOBILE *890# VAG Lottery Intake, USSD/MOBILE *890# NLA 5/90 VAG lotto intake respectively for 2020 were GHS 31, 786.85, and GHS 938, 005.14. Also, the poor performance of the *890# short code forced NLA and Tekstart Afrika Limited to cease operations.
These historical failures of the aforementioned digitalisation projects by NLA and previous Collaborators cement and confirm that the success story of KGL did not come easy or cheap, but through tremendous work, dedication and investments into the operations of the company to ensure its success.
KGL carries heavy burden of infrastructure costs far more than costs incurred by private lotto operators.
Payments of winning tickets to the winners of national lotto, and investments into Marketing and CSR equally come at costs running into millions of dollars.
KGL, apart from its statutory payments to NLA, also pays GH¢3 million annually to the NLA Stabilisation Fund which was created by the Authority. This fund is aimed at cushioning the Lotto Marketing Companies in the kiosks. In addition to that, KGL also pays GH¢2 million annually to support NLA’s Good Causes Foundation. Each of the aforementioned payments by KGL is higher than the individual license fees of GH¢1.5 million paid by a Private Lotto Operator.
Apart from the commitments to CSR and CSI Investments, KGL Group has provided jobs to millions of Ghanaians across the Country directly and indirectly.
MTN, Telecel, AirtelTigo, banks, advertising companies, media houses, and several companies are beneficiaries of KGL’s existence.
The marketing & sustainability investment undertaken by KGL also helps businesses in the economic ecosystem of Ghana to survive and expand, thereby retaining and employing more workers. Through the KGL Foundation, the livelihood of millions of household have been significantly improved especially the youth population.
In several countries, the retail is over 60-70%, and the digital is 30-40%. What the Private Lotto Operators need to do is to deploy modern Point of Sale Terminals or paper coupon with enhanced security features coupled with the right marketing strategies.
By Dr. Razak Poku