TheCable

The management of Western Lotto says the unwillingness of some companies to cooperate made it file an action against 24 lottery operators at the federal high court in Lagos.

Western Lotto Nigeria Limited had obtained the exclusive rights to sell and promote Ghana Games in Nigeria but other lottery operators continued selling Ghana games.

In a statement, the company said it is committed to joining hands with the federal government to bring sanity into the nation’s gaming industry.

“Despite the orders of the court restraining Premier Lotto, Golden Chance Lotto and others from selling the Ghana games or passing them off in anyway without recourse to Western Lotto Nigeria Limited, as the sole rights owners of the Ghana games, these operators have continued in their sale of the games,” the statement said.

“The National Lottery Authority of Ghana, owners of the Ghana games, has appointed Western Lotto as their representatives in Nigeria and given it the exclusive rights to the games. The franchise does not preclude any interested operator from selling the games provided it goes through Western Lotto – the sole rights owners to the Ghana games in Nigeria. If anyone does not want to go through Western Lotto – in line with the best global practices and the judgment of the court – such a person is at liberty to stop selling the games. There is no need for any mudslinging and insisting on selling what is not yours.

“It is laughable that these elements hiding under a faceless group known as Members of the Lotto Operators Association of Nigeria are spreading falsehood and spurious claims about Western Lotto Nigeria Limited, a going concern that saw a business opportunity in a free-market economy and went for it,” the statement read.

“As we have stated in the past, for over 20 years, lottery operators in Nigeria have illegally been making huge money from the 5/90 Ghana games without making due remittances to Federal Government or paying royalties to the Ghanaian authorities.

“Upon joining the industry in 2017, Western Lotto Nigeria Limited took a close study of the business environment and saw how the major lottery operators have been short-changing the authorities while living large on what should ordinarily have gone into the coffers of the Federal Government and the owners of the games after getting their own legitimate dues.”

Western Lotto said as a responsible corporate organisation, it approached the Ghanaian authorities and was referred to the appointed agents in Ghana with whom it was able to strike an exclusive agreement.

“Upon executing the agreement, we reached out to the owners of Premier Lotto and Golden Chance Lotto asking them to partner with us and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) to streamline the sales of the Ghana games in Nigeria and bring about transparency in the industry. They however refused. They wanted to continue with their rip-off of the stakers, agents and government while they smile to the banks.”