The Director General of the Ghana National Lottery Authority (NLA); Mr. Samuel Awuku during a visit by the Nigerian National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), stated that the relationship with the Nigerian-based Western Lotto Limited, has now been terminated.
The deal signed by the NLA and Western Lotto Ltd, for the latter to become the single carrier, of the franchise of the Ghana game in Nigeria, (A game that has been played for years in the country, prior to this deal) caused a lot of issues and disharmony among lottery operators in Nigeria and cost a lot of money in legal suits and counter suits. It became an almost embarrassing national issue, with summons to the National Assembly and the Senate, which was often accompanied by threats of penalty and revocation of license of the operators, if the deal was not adhered to.
Now few years after the deal was signed, albeit all the ensued chaos and in-fighting amongst Nigerian operators; Mr. Awuku stated that the deal has ended and that the termination of the business relationship with Western Lotto became necessary, because despite all assured promises, the NLA failed to benefit anything from the relationship.
According to him, “The marriage with Western Lotto ended in March 2022 as nothing was flowing through the pipe. From the record, the Authority didn’t benefit anything and we decided to abrogate the relationship. We prefer to engage through the front door and regulate what is happening in Nigeria in a mutually beneficial manner to both countries. With proper synergy with the NLRC everything will be alright” he stated.
