GRA, NLA Face Heat Over Lottery Sector Records
…As Citizen Demands Full Disclosure of Revenues, Taxes & Others Covering 5-Years
A private citizen has formally petitioned the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the National Lottery Authority (NLA) for extensive financial and operational records relating to lottery and gaming companies operating in Ghana, invoking provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2019 (Act 989).
In two separate letters dated May 10, 2026, Mr. Ayisah Foster, Managing Editor of Punch Newspaper, requested detailed information covering taxes, licence fees, revenues, penalties, lottery operations and financial performance spanning the period between 2020 and 2025.
In his application to the GRA, Mr. Foster asked the Commissioner-General, Anthony Kwasi Sarpong, to disclose taxes collected from 36 companies operating within Ghana’s lottery and gaming ecosystem between 2020 and 2025.
The companies listed in the request include KGL Technology Limited, Onassis Sports Limited, Alpha Lotto Limited, Game Park Ltd, Afrilotto Systems Ltd, SIMNET Ghana Limited, TekStart Africa Limited and several others.
According to the petitioner, the information is being sought under Section 18 of the RTI Act, which grants citizens the right to access information held by public institutions.
In a separate and more extensive application to the NLA, Mr. Foster requested details of licence fees and revenues received from 33 lottery-related companies between 2020 and 2025.
Beyond licensing information, he demanded financial records relating to three technical service providers—Lots Services Ghana Limited, SIMNET Ghana Limited and TekStart Africa Limited—seeking details of the total amounts paid to them by the NLA from 2018 to 2025.
The application also requested revenue figures generated through three USSD lottery platforms: *890#, reportedly operated by TekStart Africa Limited; *896#, linked to Alpha Lotto Limited; and *859#, associated with Onassis Sports Limited.
Mr. Foster further asked the NLA to indicate whether the three companies were duly licensed to operate the respective mobile lottery platforms. Where licences were not granted, he requested details of any sanctions or penalties imposed for alleged illegal operations.
The RTI application extends to the NLA’s historical financial records, including total current liabilities from 2012 to 2020, annual revenues generated from the 5/90 lottery over the same period, total prize payouts, and yearly lotto prize-to-revenue ratios, commonly referred to as win ratios.
Additionally, the petitioner is seeking information on the total commissions paid to marketing companies engaged by the Authority to sell lottery products through kiosks and point-of-sale terminals.
One of the more significant aspects of the request concerns revenues generated from live lottery draws conducted by Alpha Lotto Limited on Ghana Television (GTV).
Mr. Foster asked the NLA to disclose the amount of revenue it received from those broadcasts, citing provisions of the National Lotto Act, 2006 (Act 722), and the National Lotto Regulations, 2008 (L.I. 1948), which mandate the Authority to conduct and supervise lottery draws in Ghana.
He also challenged longstanding claims regarding the NLA’s financial contributions to the state, requesting documentary evidence to support assertions that the Authority generated annual revenues or profits ranging between GH¢500 million and GH¢3 billion for the Consolidated Fund from 2007 to 2020.
Furthermore, he requested details on licence fees and revenues generated from the mobile lottery applications myalphaonline.com and theb2blotto.com between 2020 and 2025, as well as the identities of companies licensed by the NLA to operate the platforms.
Copies of both RTI applications have been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance and the respective Board Chairpersons of the GRA and NLA.
The requests are expected to intensify scrutiny of Ghana’s lottery and gaming sector, particularly regarding taxation, licensing arrangements, regulatory compliance, operational transparency and the financial performance of both private operators and the National Lottery Authority.
