The National Lottery Authority (NLA) is taking bold steps to clean up Ghana’s lotto industry, rolling out a new directive that will require all agents to be duly licensed before they can operate.

According to the NLA Director-General, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the move is aimed at sanitising the sector and curbing the activities of unlicensed operators who continue to flood the market.

“We want to ensure that people who are out there serving customers are doing so because they are legitimately allowed by law,” he explained.

“There are too many people engaged in the sale of lottery without the appropriate mandate, and it is difficult to constantly chase after those who flout the law.”

The directive comes after the Authority uncovered worrying disparities in data submitted by private lotto agents. Abdul-Salam revealed that when the NLA requested figures on the number of writers under these agents, the projections did not match the revenue returns being declared.

“We asked the private lotto agents to provide data on the number of writers they have. If you use those projections against what they send as returns in terms of what they make, there is a huge disparity,” he said.

This mismatch, he noted, raises concerns about accountability, revenue leakages, and the overall integrity of the lottery system. By ensuring that only licensed agents operate, the NLA hopes to restore public confidence and protect both players and the state’s revenue.

The new initiative is expected to face resistance from some quarters, particularly from unregistered agents who may be forced out of business.

However, the Authority insists the exercise is necessary to create a fair and transparent space for operators and to prevent the exploitation of unsuspecting customers.