On September 29, 1962 under the leadership of a Maltese -William Francis Brennan- the then Director-General of the National Lotteries Department, held its first draw to mark the beginning of responsible gaming in Ghana and the prize was £5,000.00.
This new direction of generating revenue through gaming came about following a visit to Malta by Komla Agbeli Gbesemah, Finance Minister under Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s regime.
Giving details of an account of the birth of NLA, the Director-General, Samuel Awuku said: “As the story goes, Mr Gbedemah informed the then Prime Minister, Dr Kwame Nkrumah on his return, who in turn sent envoys to Malta to understudy the lottery and requested the Maltese government to help Ghana set up its own lottery body.
“In granting that request, the Maltese government seconded Mr William Francis Brennan, an Officer of the Malta Public Lotteries Department, to assist Ghana set up the Department of National Lotteries (DNL). Mr Brennan was thus the Department’s first Director-General.”
The lotto historian continued that the genesis of lotto is credited to the Roman Empire before taking shape in Spain in 1434 and subsequently, spreading to England and other parts of Europe.
In respect of this, he said although Malta cannot claim the origin of the lotto as part of its history, it was through the south European nation’s effort that Ghana successfully established its charter and held the maiden draw on September 29, 1962.
Therefore, he added that, September 29th marks a very important calendar in the history of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), and this year is remembered as the Authority’s diamond jubilee.
He said these at the launch of the NLA 60th anniversary in Accra last week Thursday, 29th September 2022.
Addressing invited guests, management and staff, the Director-General said lotto has contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of Ghana, since its introduction.
According to him, the NLA can boldly say over the past 60 years, it has generated revenue for national development, touched lives, communities and institutions, as well as made its patrons rich (millionaires).
However, he noted that coming this far had not been without tests and trials and that the NLA has had its fair share of challenges in this 60-year journey, hence the reforms, policies and decisions taken by successive Boards and Director-Generals, which had transformed the organisation to chalk this feat.
Mr Awuku also made known social intervention projects being undertaken by the NLA under its charity branch, Good Cause Foundation, which covers education, health, youth development and culture.
Outlining the programme for the 60th anniversary, Mr Awuku said three months had been set aside to celebrate the anniversary, in which the month of October has been dedicated to its cherished customers, whom they recognise as their most valued assets, while November is slated for giving back to society including commissioning various projects embarked upon across the country, and the anniversary would be climaxed with a grand durbar in December.
He indicated that the celebration will be held alongside the first-ever conference of the Africa Lottery Association in Ghana from December 7th to 10th.
The Director-General thanked the Board, the Veteran Administration of Ghana (VAG), management, staff and stakeholders for keeping their faith in the Authority.
On his part, the Deputy Minister for Finance, Dr John Kumah thanked Mr Awuku for bringing dynamism to the operation of the NLA, especially the contribution of GH₵10 million to the Youth Start Programme.
He was sure that these new drives and energy in the Authority would help management and staff to work assiduously to seal all revenue leakages, “as far as NLA is concerned, this revenue is to support activities of the NLA and to help the government in its revenue drive. So we implore you to be mindful about how you handle revenue in the operations of the NLA.”
Commenting on the event, he urged the board, management and staff to use the occasion as a time for reflection on the past, present and future.
The Minister for Justice and Attorney-General (A-G), Godfred Yeboah Dame, added that if the NLA was a natural person, he or she would be proceeding on retirement at age 60 years, but the new age is a rather new dawn for achieving the greater feat.
Already, he noted that the NLA has positioned itself as a tool used by political actors in their quest to improve the economic circumstances of the country.
Mr Yeboah was of the opinion that if the NLA is managed well, it would serve as a catalyst for national development.
According to him, since the lotto is more than a game or entertainment, it requires fairness and continuous adoption and adaptation of new technologies for an effective operation.
The Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, thanked NLA for its longstanding relationship with the Veterans Administration of Ghana, the Ghana Armed Forces and the Defence Ministry.
He proudly said six of the NLA former Director-Generals were military persons and their immense contribution, including the construction of the NLA main administration block – the Fortune House, had helped shaped the Authority to this day.
The Defence Minster stressed that his ministry would continue to explore new ways of partnering with the NLA to better the lives of the servicemen and women.
The Board Chairman of NLA who also doubles as a Member of the Council of State, Togbe Francis Nyonyo Agboada said the Authority would resolve to deepen its partnership with Corporate Ghana.
He said “We have successfully licensed some Private Lotto Operators, (PLOs) and look forward to welcoming more on board. The security services, together with the NLA task force, will continue to clamp down on defaulters to sanitise the lottery industry.
“We are also in the process of signing on some more Collaborators who will introduce some exciting new games for our cherished patrons. By the end of the year, we should take delivery of our modern machines, which purchase was done in accordance with the standards of the World Lottery Association (WLA).”
A diamond jubilee crest and sculpture of NLA’s first Director-General, William Francis Brennan, were unveiled, as well anniversary song by Ayigbe Edem.
