Ghana NLA Gives Lotto Operators Two-Month Extension to End Paper-Based Staking
Ghana’s National Lottery Authority (NLA) has extended the deadline for Private Lotto Operators (PLOs), agents and writers to cease manual, paper-based lottery operations, giving stakeholders an additional two months to complete the transition to digital systems.
In a notice dated August 3, 2026, the NLA said the extension followed consultations with stakeholders involved in the transition. The Authority had initially required all licensed PLOs, agents and writers to stop using manual paper-based staking by August 1, 2026. Under the revised timeline, the new deadline is October 1, 2026.
The move forms part of the NLA’s broader digitalisation drive. In July, the Authority announced that PLOs would be required to conduct lottery sales through electronic point-of-sale (POS) terminals, with the initiative supported by a strategic partnership between the NLA and Fidelity Bank PLC.
Read Also: NLA Directs Private Lotto Operators to End Paper-Based Lottery Staking by 1st August, 2026
The digital systems are intended to improve transaction efficiency, strengthen revenue tracking and reduce operational leakages. The transition is also expected to address some of the challenges associated with the existing lottery infrastructure, including unreliable connectivity and limitations around prize payments.
At the same time, the NLA is tightening compliance across the country’s lottery distribution network. In July, the Authority, in partnership with the Concerned Lotto Agents Association of Ghana (CLAAG), began nationwide inspections of lotto agents and writers following the completion of a mandatory registration exercise.
Agents were required to register and obtain official compliance stickers by May 31, 2026. Under the NLA’s “No Sticker, No Sales” directive, only registered agents displaying the approved compliance sticker at their sales points are permitted to continue operating.
