Former Ghanaian Finance Minister claims government is deceiving citizens on betting tax
Ghana’s former Finance Minister Dr Mohammed Amin Adam says on the betting tax the government claims to have abolished: “We never collected betting tax”.
Ghana: A fierce backlash has erupted across Ghana after former Finance Minister, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, accused the government of blatantly deceiving the public with its recent promise to abolish the “betting tax”.
His explosive claim comes in response to a statement made by his successor, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, during the presentation of the 2025 Budget Statement, where he vowed to eliminate the 10 per cent withholding tax on winnings from lottery and betting activities.
“Mr Speaker, we will abolish the 10% withholding tax on winnings from lottery, otherwise known as the Betting Tax,” Forson said, a move that was initially celebrated by bettors and the public.
However, Dr Adam, who served as finance minister under the previous administration, immediately fired back, accusing the government of playing a political game with the truth. According to local media, there was a tense exchange with journalists at Parliament shortly after Forson’s announcement where Adam categorically stated that the “betting tax” never existed under the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) leadership.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, betting tax that they said they had abolished, we never collected betting tax. We never implemented the betting tax so to come and tell Ghanaians that you have abolished something that was never implemented is to deceive the people of Ghana,” he reportedly said.
Dr Adam, attempting to clarify his position, took to Facebook later the same day to elaborate on the issue: “The tax applies to lottery wins and betting wins. What the Minister said he is abolishing is the lottery wins, which knowingly or unknowingly he called it ‘betting tax’. We have never collected the tax on lottery wins so it cannot be abolished,” he wrote.
Research on the tax
But the plot thickens. According to research conducted by Ghana media group 3News, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has, since April 2024, been implementing a practice called “Taxation of Gross Gaming Revenue and Winnings from Lottery Operations“. This document outlines the procedure for withholding 10 per cent of gross winnings from various betting operations, including sports betting, casinos and private lottery operations, to be paid directly to the GRA.
Under the amended practice, players withdrawing from their gaming wallets or accounts are subject to a 10 per cent withholding tax on their gross winnings, raising the question of who is actually benefitting from these deductions if not the government.
Civilian keyboard warriors on social media have also pointed to the 2024 presidential campaign manifesto of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who also promised to abolish this very same tax.
Debate rages on
As the debate continues across the country, the public has demanded answers from politicians. Was the tax ever paid to the GRA? If betting companies deducted the tax, where did the funds go?
Ghanaians are left with one pressing question: Who is keeping the 10 per cent from bettors’ winnings? Only the Ghana Revenue Authority can provide clarity on this escalating controversy.
