[ 2021-02-18 ]

Alpha Lotto, NLA on collision course over operation
A private lottery operator, Alpha Lotto Limited,
is on a collision course with the National Lottery
Authority (NLA) over the legality of its
operations.
While the company says it is complying fully with
the NLA and is registered and licensed, the NLA
has categorically stated that Alpha Lotto is
flouting the law and could face sanctions.



Alpha’s case

The management of Alpha Lotto Limited said per the
NLA's license, it was operating its own games
under Act 844 (2012), on independent platforms and
marketing them through its shortcode *896#.

It has, therefore, refuted a statement put out in
the media by the NLA that created the impression
that by advertising its shortcode among other
things, it is engaged in fraudulent activities.

A Lawyer and Consultant for Alpha Lotto Limited,
Dr Ato Conduah, told a press conference in Accra
yesterday that with the advent of technology, the
company had had to use a shortcode to engage with
its customers, especially when there was a ban
placed on writing lottery booklets.



According to him, the company duly acquired the
shortcode *896# from the National Communications
Authority (NCA), which was quite different from
the NLA's *959#.

He said Alpha Lotto Limited was licensed by the
NLA to operate the Veterans Association of Ghana
(VAG) 5/90 fixed odds games and, “does not
operate the shortcode *959# intended for NLA
games. Under Act 772 (2006), Alpha Lotto does not
operate NLA’s 5/90 games”.

NLA


In a statement issued last Sunday, the NLA
informed players of its products and services and
the media that its only operational and functional
official shortcode in use was *959#.

It said any other platform operating digital
lottery shortcode “is fraudulent and illegal”
and that a lot of investment had gone into
developing and running the official NLA short code
*959#.



NLA’s reaction

Meanwhile, the NLA came out some three hours after
the press conference to state firmly that Alpha
Lotto Limited was licensed to operate the VAG
lottery under the Veterans Administration, Ghana
Act, 2012 (Act 844) dated 1st day of July 2020
regulated by Act 722.

It said under the Terms and Conditions of the
license, Alpha Lotto had no right to operate its
own games without authorisation from the NLA as
the regulator of the lottery industry.

“As it stands now, Alpha Lotto Limited has no
approval from the NLA to operate its own games.
There are processes, procedures, criteria and
requirements an operator must fulfil before it can
operate its own games under strict compliance with
the rules and regulations of the National Lottery
Authority(NLA).

“Alpha Lotto Limited has no right under the
license issued to the company to operate its own
independent platform without approval from the NLA
as the regulator.

The NLA stressed that Alpha Lotto Limited had no
right under the terms and conditions of its
license which falls under Act 844 to market its
games through the shortcode *896#, adding that
“Alpha Lotto Limited is seriously in breach of
the terms and conditions of its license. There is
nowhere in the agreement that Alpha Lotto Limited
can market its games through a shortcode”.

Again, it said there was nowhere in the agreement
that Alpha Lotto Limited could conduct its own
independent draw without supervision from the
NLA.

“As part of the agreement, Terms and Conditions
of the license issued under Act 844, a draw
committee must be constituted by the NLA to
monitor all draws. So far, no draw committee has
been constituted by the NLA to supervise the draws
of Alpha Lotto Limited.

The authority further cautioned Alpha Lotto
Limited to cease the live draw on GTV and stop
operating its digital short code *896# with
immediate effect.

It said failure to comply with the directive would
attract sanctions, including revocation of the
company's license under Act 844.

Source - Graphic Online

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