Athletics betting is regulated by Gaming Commission- Razak Opoku

Sports News of Saturday, 13 March 2021

Source: GNA

2021-03-13

Mr. Razak Kojo Opoku, Head of the Community Relation Unit of the Countrywide Lottery Authority has stated that sports activities betting is regulated by the Gaming Commission of Ghana under Act 721 whereas lottery is controlled by National Lottery Authority (NLA) less than 722.

He claimed there were being a good deal of international firms running sports activities betting with no payment of taxes to the State as essential by law and that there was the need to have to fish them out and compel them to spend the taxes.

Aside from the expected license fees these international sports betting providers paid to the Gaming Commission of Ghana, he claimed they also contributed insignificantly to the income mobilization attempts of the federal government, that’s why the need to impose taxes on them.

In an interview with the Ghana Information Agency in Accra, Mr. Razak Opoku reported overseas athletics betting businesses repatriated their gains again to their respective international locations resulting in cash flight, which in flip afflicted the power and functionality of the nearby currency, the Ghana Cedis.

He claimed the operations of lottery less than Act 722 were restricted to only Ghanaian-owned or partly owned providers, on the other hand, the functions of athletics betting under Act 721 predominantly targeted international companies.

He stated the introduction of the tax by the Akufo-Addo’s government on athletics betting was rather focusing on overseas corporations in purchase to cut down the cash flight related with the athletics betting industry.

He mentioned: “Sports betting with accountable gaming as the benchmark aimed at raising income for the collective added benefits of federal government and its citizens can in no way be explained as morally reprehensible.”

Mr. Razak Opoku disagreed with Mr. Cassiel Ato Forson, previous Deputy Minister of Finance for accusing the governing administration of not banning Sporting activities Gaming Organizations.

He alleged that Mr. Forson, then Deputy Minister of Finance had each possibility to get actions to wholly repeal the Countrywide Lotto Act 722 due to the fact the Ministry of Finance experienced the oversight accountability of the NLA.

“For the intent of clarity and location the data straight, previous President John Dramani Mahama’s administration with Mr. Forson as the Deputy Minister of Finance imposed 5 p.c withholding tax on lotto wins, the highest at any time subsequent a re-classification of the lotto as an expense action.

“Again that administration with Mr. Forson as the Deputy Minister of Finance imposed 7.5 % tax on the 20 percent fee paid to the indigenous Ghanaian Lotto Internet marketing Organizations, also the highest ever”.

Mr. Razak Opoku claimed it took the Akufo-Addo’s govt to abolish the 5 % withholding tax on lotto wins and 7.5 per cent tax on the fee compensated to the Lotto Internet marketing Companies, adding that the 5 and 7.5 per cent taxes, were abolished in the 2018 ‘Adwuma’ Spending budget.

He alleged that: “It is really unacceptable and morally reprehensible for Mr. Forson, who was portion of the really governing administration that imposed 5 and 7.5 p.c taxes on lottery, to criticize the Akufo-Addo’s governing administration for taxing sports betting.

Mr. Razak Opoku claimed: “God made anything that exists through Text and Quantities and that each and every knowledge obtained is as a result of Words and Numbers. Our daily transactions, buying and selling, and communications are based mostly on Text and Quantities. Lotteries and sports betting deal with the Figures facet of development aimed at producing earnings for nationwide growth, and for human empowerment fiscally, there is unquestionably practically nothing completely wrong with lotteries and sports activities betting.”