Court stops VAG from operating lotto
The Circuit court in Accra has placed an interlocutory injunction on the Veterans Administration, Ghana (VAG), preventing it from engaging in lottery or lotto activities that are said to have been diverting millions of Ghana cedis in revenues meant for the state.
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The injunction, which took effect from Monday, pending the determination of the illegality or otherwise of the actions of VAG, also makes it illegal for people and institutions to operate with licences issued them to by VAG.
The decision to temporarily ban VAG from lottery and lotto activities was in response to a writ filed by the National Lottery Authority (NLA) requesting the court to restrain the administration from engaging in such lotto and lottery activities in the country.
The court, which was presided over by Mr Francis Obiri, granted NLA’s request on Monday pending the determination of the matter.
The court order is expected to help address some of the revenue leakages that the authority has been suffering as a result of the activities of illegal lotto and lottery operators.
NLA contributed about GH¢25 million into the Consolidated Fund in 2013 and is now aiming at raking in about GH¢32 million from the industry this year.
The General Manager of Prosecutions and Enforcement at the NLA, Mr David Lamptey, however, told the Daily Graphic that the realisation of that target was already under threat, following the activities of illegal lotto and lottery activities like those from the VAG.
“Our sales, in terms of revenue generation, were dipping because they (VAG and the people it licensed to operate) were actually diverting the funds, which normally our stickers would bring to us. It was, naturally, a national crisis for us as far as revenue generation was concerned,” he added.
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Background
Taking the Daily Graphic through situations leading to the court case, Mr Lamptey said the authority had hints in late January, this year, that VAG was licensing people and institutions to operate lotto and lottery.
He said although the administration, which is a grouping of retired military personnel, agreed to desist from the practice after a meeting with the NLA, it engaged a third party to undertake lotto and lottery activities on its behalf.
“So immediately we got information that they were going to launch their own lotto with Obiri and Sons on January 23, 2014, at Takoradi, what we did was on January 22, we issued a writ and filed an application for interim injunction, which went ex parte.
The court heard us on January 23 and gave its order but because it was an ex parte application, we had to repeat it after 10 days. We did that and the court ruled on March 31, granting the interlocutory injunction against VAG and against anybody else who has been licensed by VAG from engaging in lotto or lottery,” Mr Lamptey said.