The Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Sammi Awuku, has invited Jamaican lottery players to travel and join their Ghanaian counterparts to do some business.
The call comes on the back of measures the Authority is exploring to link Ghanaian local private lotto operators with other international players to strengthen Ghana’s system.
During a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister of Jamaica, who also doubles as the National Security Minister, Dr. Horace Anthony Chang, Mr Sammi Awuku disclosed that the Ghanaian delegation were in their country to share ideas and learn best practices that will be critical to the growth of lottery in Ghana.
“The NLA will be 60 years on the 29th of September this year. We have chalked a lot of successes, and have also had our challenges, but we want to move lottery in Ghana forward and make it a world-class lottery industry,” he said.
“The NLA is looking forward to granting the first licence for a Caribbean company to operate a lottery in Ghana and West Africa so this visit will afford us the opportunity to assess for ourselves the capacity of the suitors,” the NLA Director-General added.
In a bid to diversify the NLA’s revenue potential as well as sell Ghana’s famous products on international platforms, the Authority is working to build strong bilateral relationships with some countries so lottery companies and service providers can have the opportunity to do business out of the shores of Ghana.
In his remarks, Dr. Chang welcomed the team, saying Jamaica and Ghana have a long-standing relationship, and underscored the need to promote culture and business relations between these two countries.
He said lottery had been a major source of support for the Jamaican economy, adding that, for them, proceeds of the lottery are invested in culture, health, education and sports development.
Dr. Chang also observed that a direct airline between West Africa and the Caribbean had been a major impediment, and promised leadership of these countries will start a conversation to get it resolved.
BGLC
As part of activities for the week-long study and familiarisation tour to Jamaica, at the invitation by the Jamaican Lottery Industry, the delegation visited Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission of Jamaica (BGLC), the regulator of the Lottery and Gaming in Jamaica.
The meeting allowed both parties to share their individual experiences and the strategies they have both adopted to tackle some similar challenges they both face.
The Jamaican team took the delegation through their rigorous licensing and compliance procedures and other operations procedures they adopt for their work.
The delegation then met the biggest operator in Jamaica, Supreme Ventures Group (SVG), where they were taken through their various operations and different products they offer.
Mr Awuku and the team also inspected some sales points of Supreme Ventures across the island, and also observed the painstaking process of running their daily draws.
