The Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Sammi Awuku, has clarified that the government has not yet begun implementing the 10% tax deduction on betting.

He explained that although the NLA is responsible for collecting this tax, they have faced challenges due to the complexity of the framework.

Awuku mentioned that the NLA has had meetings with the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) regarding the collection of the betting tax, but no progress has been made.

In an interview with Oyerepa TV, Awuku said, "We have not been able to collect even a cedi. They informed me that as the Director General of the NLA, we are supposed to collect it, but I have not been able to do so because the framework is difficult. We don’t deduct the 10% from betting earnings.

"We have had discussions with the GRA and the Ministry of Finance on the modalities. The truth is we didn’t know them; we just licensed them three weeks ago, and it is estimated that there are over 380 illegal operators who are still unknown."

This revelation has surprised some members of the public, especially since both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, have pledged to scrap the 10% betting tax if elected president.

Watch the video below:

Betting Tax : NPP Government has not yet started deducting 10% tax on betting, policy not in operation - Sammi Awuku #OyerepaNews #OyerepaTV #ElectionField #Elections2024 #NPP pic.twitter.com/5LKnYq6Lbe

— Oyerepa TV/FM (@oyerepaofficial) September 16, 2024