Ghana’s national lottery hits jackpot with KGL partnership
Last year, KGL’s platform generated 3 billion cedis (€206.4m) in total sales, paying out 2 billion cedis (€138m) to winners who can now claim prizes without long trips to lottery offices.
Ghana.- The National Lottery Authority of Ghana is enjoying a financial boom, fuelled by a strategic partnership with KGL Technology Limited that elevated a simple licensing agreement into a significant source of revenue.
In 2024 alone, KGL handed over 157 million cedis (€11m) to the NLA, a notable rise from just 20 million cedis (€1.4m) at the start of their collaboration in 2020. This increase has benefited lottery players, small vendors nationwide and the government, which uses the funds for schools, roads and other public services.
The partnership focuses on the NLA’s flagship 5/90 lottery game, accessible via simple USSD phone codes or web platforms. After several unsuccessful attempts by the NLA to digitise the game, including projects like “Mobi Games” and “Mobile 5/90”, KGL took over operations in 2020. The company started handling ticket printing, bet processing, instant prize payouts, marketing and telecom costs, while the NLA receives a percentage tied to sales performance, with no upfront costs or operational risks.
Last year, KGL’s platform generated 3 billion cedis (€206.4m) in total sales, paying out 2 billion cedis (€138m) to winners who can now claim prizes without long trips to lottery offices. Additionally, 87 million cedis (€5.9m) went to taxes for the Ghana Revenue Authority, supporting vital public programs.
An NLA official, speaking anonymously, emphasised the transformation: “To hit 157 million cedis (€10m) the old way, we’d have to move 950 million cedis (€65.4m) in ticket sales. Our best year before this was 402 million cedis (€27.7m) back in 2017. This isn’t extra cash, it’s a whole new way forward for us.”
The partnership complies with Ghana’s lottery laws: Act 722 and L.I. 1948, that prohibit the NLA from directly selling tickets or advancing operational cash. Instead, private firms like KGL are licensed for such activities.
Controversy surrounding the deal
Payments from KGL to the NLA have grown exponentially, from quarterly sums upon launch in 2020 to 25 million cedis (€1.7 million) in 2021, 50 million cedis (€3.4 million) in 2022, 96 million cedis (€6.6 million) in 2023 and a record 157 million cedis (€10 million) in 2024.
Despite the financial gains, not everyone agrees that the deal is equitable. Investigative groups like The Fourth Estate and the Media Foundation for West Africa criticised the NLA for granting KGL access to a 3 billion cedis (€206.4m) per year operation in exchange for only a 170 million cedis (€11.7m) annual payout, suggesting the deal undervalues a vital public asset and excludes local operators.
However, the Chamber of Indigenous Business and Investors counters the criticism. Executive Director Alistair Nelson described the negative portrayal as “sensational” and misleading, explaining the complex workings of lottery operations.
He said: “Before KGL, the NLA’s total haul from 2013 to 2020 was under 2.8 billion cedis (€192.6m) across eight years, with its peak single-year revenue at 402 million cedis (€27.7m) in 2017, far from the 3 billion cedis (€206.4m) critics cited as a baseline.
“The NLA-KGL deal is one of the best we’ve seen. KGL’s payments from 2019 to 2024 already top what the NLA sent to the national fund from 2013 to 2024. And if KGL walked away tomorrow, that supposed 3 billion cedis (€206.4m) wouldn’t just drop into state hands, lotteries don’t work that way.”
