Ranking Member on Parliament’s Committee on Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has called on the government to ban sports betting rather than impose taxes on the sector.

According to him, betting is destroying Ghanaian youth and should be banned instead of taxed.

“Ghana today, we are complaining that this gambling is destroying our youth. I have read a number of articles on this. I would have thought the government would come out with a policy to restrict gambling and to even ban it,” he said.

In a media interaction, the former deputy finance minister said the government should not put too much emphasis on revenue mobilisation at the expense of the people.

Dr Ato Forson indicated that, “to run a country is not all about money. You need to preserve society as well.”

Government in its 2021 Budget presented to Parliament estimated an annual revenue loss of over GHS 300 million due to leakages in the betting industry.

The task of co-supervising the gaming industry and consulting with stakeholders to develop an all-encompassing policy to enhance revenue mobilisation from this source has been given to the Ministries of Finance and the Interior.

However, the Ranking Member of Parliament's Finance Committee proposes the government leverage the Tax Exemption Bill instead of taxing individuals and businesses.

“Exemption Bill alone can rake in 2.5% of GDP. Instead of government of Ghana going back to push that Exemption Bill; they have decided to tax us because that is easy” the MP for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam said.

Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, the minister of information, rejects the country's decision to outlaw gaming businesses. According to him, betting is not a prohibited activity under Ghanaian law, but rather that the government may impose higher levels of taxes on the industry, similar to the taxes it levies on goods like tobacco and alcohol.

“Government is saying that it is noticeable that the gambling space is opened up with a lot of online betting platforms. Just like it does with the National Lottery Authority, it will like to ensure that the proper taxes are accrued from there. It will be double standards if you are allowing NLA and banning all of these ones.” Oppong-Nkrumah said.

He is sceptical about the prospect of leveraging the Tax Exemption Bill as a revenue mobilisation mechanism.

He, however, proposed rolling out of the Physical Electronic Devices tax as one of the surest ways for the state to raise revenue.

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Monday, August 7, announced that it will begin implementing a 10% withholding tax on all gross gaming winnings from August 15, 2023.

This follows the government’s decision to amend the Tax Act, therefore, introducing withholding tax on winnings from sports betting and lottery.

The betting industry in Ghana has grown significantly over the past ten years, which has led to the influx of betting companies in the country.

Ghanaians' opinions on sports betting have recently frequently been divided, with some highlighting its negative effects on the youth.

Others also believe betting is legal and therefore cannot be described as a bad practice when no laws are broken.

However, the decision to impose a 10% withholding tax has drawn criticism from Ghanaians, some of whom have attacked the government on social media.

Source: The Independent Ghana| Diana Nutsugah