Betting revenue to fund Ghana’s National Sports programs in early 2026
The National Sports Fund will use revenue from sports betting and lotteries to support athletes, infrastructure and talent development.
Ghana.- Ghana will channel a portion of sports betting and lottery revenue into a National Sports Fund starting in early 2026, aiming to end persistent underfunding and directly link gaming activity to the development of athletes and sports infrastructure.
The Sports Fund Bill, currently in the final stages before Parliament, identifies 14 potential revenue streams to support athletes, infrastructure and competitions. These include contributions from sports betting operators, sports lotteries, corporate sponsorships, athlete transfer fees, gate receipts from events, athlete certification fees, commercial sports vendor income, parliamentary allocations, international grants and donations.
Among these, levies and contributions from sports betting operators will play a pivotal role, ensuring that revenue from Ghana’s rapidly growing betting market, dominated by betPawa, SportyBet and others, directly benefits the nation’s athletes and sporting programs.
Fund taps betting revenue, no new taxes
Minister for Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu emphasised that the Fund will not introduce any new tax or levy on citizens. He said that a “proposed bill was sent to Cabinet and approved for the establishment of a Sports Development Fund,” according to Ghanamma.
The Fund will rely on existing revenue streams from Ghana’s “rapidly expanding” betting and gaming market, including sports lotteries, sponsorships and athlete transfers, providing a sustainable mechanism to support athletes, competitions and sports infrastructure while minimising financial burdens on the public.
Ofosu added that the Fund will be financed “through proceeds from betting companies, sports lotteries and the transfer of athletes both within Ghana and abroad”.
The move comes after the 10 per cent betting winnings tax was abolished in April 2025, a change that opens the way for gaming revenue to be channelled into sports development.
If approved by Parliament, the National Sports Fund will make Ghana one of the first African countries to explicitly link gambling revenues to national sports development, signalling a new model for harnessing the gaming sector for social and economic benefit.
