…For All Monies Collected Without Receipts-GLOA/ CLAG
Ghana Lotto Operators Association (GLOA) and Concerned Lotto Agents and Writers Association (CLAG) has called on Government to investigate the Director-General for National Lottery Authority (NLA), for all monies collected from them without issuing them any official receipt.
Kofi Osei Ameyaw, the group alleged, has used official means to extort millions of Ghana Cedis from private sector operators with the promise that he would license Banker – to – Banker operator’s use of NLA draw numbers.
The Lawyer for the Association, Lawyer Francis Ato Kodua said this in press release sign by the Chairman for the Association, Dan Borsor in Accra, to present urgent matters which were undermining their lotto business and also denying them their livelihoods as citizens.
He explained that these funds & system and machines were unlawfully taken from them under fraudulent pretense and therefore needed to be returned to the operators.
“The NLA unlawfully collected one million Ghana Cedis each from twenty four operators to enable them operate nationwide, one hundred and eight thousand Ghana cedis each for Lotto Writers nationwide and five thousand Ghana Cedis each form Lotto Agents nationwide”, in addition operators who intends to operate nationwide have each provided five million Ghana cedis bank insurance guarantees to NLA”, he said
He continued further that this has been found to be a hoax designed to fleece them off their capital, seize their legally- acquired draw machines for VAG Lotto and run them bankrupt permanently.
“We condemn this unlawful attempts to collect all private sector operators draw machines, equipment and operating systems after deceiving them into demonstrating their self – acquire systems to NLA”.
He condemned further what he described as acts of administrative corruption by the Director- General of the Authority and ask for his interdiction and the full refund of millions of cedis collected from them to get them registered, for this non -existence lotto operators.
All attempts by the private operators to obtain an MoU or official receipts for the millions of cedis collected by NLA has proved futile, adding that “this collection of funds by top management of NLA intends to deceive GLOA members to commit their capital to render us bankrupt, therefore we call for the need for thorough investigation by the special prosecutor’s office”.
The National Lotteries Authority (NLA), which enjoys an unjustified monopoly created for lotto operations in the country is seeking to run the private lotto operators bankrupt by surreptitiously using illegal “bully – boy” tactics to frustrate private operator’s machines and platform acquire license for VAG Lotto operations in Ghana.
“It is recalled that the Veterans Administration of Ghana, (VAG) in 2014 officially licensed Compelled Operators in GLOA to operate its VAG lotto initially for five years”, he stated.
This license compelled operators to contract huge loans and make significant investments in software and hardware to start VAG lotto operations, but could not operate due to NLA’s legal battles with VAG, saying the investment made by licensed Operators in VAG lotto must be recovered.
