The Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Mohammed Abdul-Salam, has emphasised the urgent need for the NLA to intensify its efforts in integrating artificial intelligence into its systems, in response to the alarming global surge in mobile fraud and cybercrime.

He made this statement on the sidelines of a Seminar organized by the African Lotteries Association (ALA) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The ALA Seminar, officially opened by the Vice President of ALA and Director-General of PMU, Mali, Doumbia Fassery, focused on the role Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity play in the gaming sector.

The Seminar featured presentations on understanding Artificial Intelligence and its relevance to security, fraud detection, data analytics, and operational intelligence, as well as cybersecurity challenges for lotteries in the age of AI.

There were also demonstrations by experts using sophisticated AI tools to prevent mobile fraud in the lottery industry, as well as panel discussions featuring Philippe Vlaemminck, European Lotteries' Legal Advisor, and Dr. Coulibali Ibrahim, an Expert in Digital Law.

WLA Executive Director, Luca Esposito, urged ALA members to adopt the use of artificial intelligence within the framework of the lottery, along with other technologies, to address challenges.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Seminar, the Director-General of NLA, Mr Abdul-Salam, reiterated his commitment to the fight against fraud. He stated that the seminar was insightful and places a burden on the Authority to intensify efforts to combat the activities of fraudsters. “We have people using our images to woo unsuspecting people to defraud them of vast sums of money, and so this is a wake-up call to employ the use of these technological solutions to address the issues of mobile fraud and cybercrime”, he said.

The ALA Seminar on Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity provided a collaborative platform for ALA members, executives, regulators, and industry stakeholders to come together, identify the threats they face, and address them by sharing experiences from their various jurisdictions.

ALA Ratifies NLA Boss as Vice President at General Assembly

Following the Seminar, ALA executives held their General Assembly on 25^th June, where they reviewed and approved their 2024 financial report.  The Assembly also ratified the position of Mr. Mohammed Abdul-Salam.

Upon the resignation of the immediate past Director-General of NLA, Mr. Samuel Awuku, and the subsequent appointment of Mr. Mohammed Abdul-Salm, the African Lotteries Association (ALA) Board of Directors, during its meeting held on February 25, acknowledged the change in the Legal representative of the NLA in the Association. They officially announced the

appointment of Mr. Mohammed Abdul-Salam as Vice-President to serve the unexpired term of Mr. Awuku.

At its ALA Executive Meeting on June 25th, the Assembly ratified the co-optation of Mr. Mohammed Abdul-Salam in his capacity as the new Director-General of NLA, Ghana, to the position of 4th Vice-President on the ALA Board of Directors.  His term of office expires in the 2027 financial year.

Mr. Mohammed Abdul-Salam thanked the General Assembly for the opportunity to serve as the 4^th Vice President of ALA. He assured the house of his commitment to work diligently with them to achieve the goals and objectives.