Director General of NLA, Mr. Samuel Awuku
As part of efforts to clamp down on illegal lotto operators across the country, the National Lottery Authority has apprehended six operators in the Eastern Region.
This comes after the Authority completed its license regime as part of measures to streamline the activities of lotto operators.
Speaking on the recent operation to the media at the Koforidua Central Police Station, Mr Goodfellow Dei Ofei, the Public Relations Manager for the Authority, said, “ as we indicated, we will have these unannounced swoops to clear the system of these illegal operators”.
He continued, “We gave them ample time to have their activities properly regularized, but some of these people thought we were joking about our resolve to clear the system of illegal lottery activities. Today’s operation was very successful; we apprehended six operators at their closing points and some cash which is proceeds from their activities [ceased]. The police have been of tremendous support to us. We expect to prosecute these suspects as soon as possible”.
In September this year, the management of the National Lottery Authority, headed by its new Director-General, Mr Samuel Awuku, engaged the Association of Private Lotto Operators on the modalities to renew their operational license for 2021/2022, which expired in June this year.
After the deliberations, both parties agreed on some modalities which culminated in the licensing procedure.
After the completion of the licensing regime, the NLA, with the support of the security services, set out to clamp down on the activities of persons operating illegally.
A series of such operations have occurred in some parts of the Greater Accra Region since the 1st of November this year. One such activity took the team to the Eastern Region, regarded as the second largest sales region for the NLA. The operations were carried out in the Kwahu enclave, ie. Nkawkaw, Abetifi, Atibei, etc.