Akosua Manu, the National Youth Authority’s (NYA) deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a candidate for the Adentan Member of Parliament (MP) seat on behalf of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has stated that sports betting must be taxed in the country.

She insisted that the need for taxing is justified, since some people have concluded that their problem is not unemployment but rather their luck, which makes them feel as though they must utilize this as a means to an end.

As a result, she claimed that people who chose to gamble for enjoyment, rather than as a method of achieving a goal, did not seem troubled by the fact that they were being taxed.

“If you decide that you don’t have any means of earning a keep and that is your main stay, you’ll be taxed. And that is because it is considered as some form of a trade. So where do we re-fence the argument? If I make GHC2000 a month after taxes and I decide to put GHC500 into betting, so I bet on games.
“So, people are risking their lives while playing a 90 minutes game and I determine that West Ham will beat Chelsea and it happens. And out of what I put in there, I make money. What existed then was VAT on the stakes and with Vat on the stakes, the problem was implementation.”
Akosua Manu

Furthermore, she averred that the problem with VAT on stakes was the processes of monitoring and ensuring that it was actually being levied. “I do not know the technicalities of it and as to why it failed but subsequently, it became easier for operators and even those in the system to say that let’s put it towards winnings,” she stated.

Also, she mentioned a childhood game when kids had to choose balloons at random, implying that it meant everyone had gambled before. She then claimed that it demonstrated that certain players were consistently lucky in these games and won every day, while others lost for four months in a row, before a big win in a day. “So, if that platform exists, why not make that consideration?”, she questioned.

“You know these slot machines; in my mind, I feel like they are always rigged for you to fail. But some people would work the slot machine and you would see a big buy-out or bonus on the money they make. So, you see that consistently, the companies make money. Every now and then, there’s a huge crash where multiple people earn and they earn in huge amounts. And they literally wipe out the stakes that were placed into it.
“But it comes down to this fact, how do we decide to just look on for these monies to keep growing and not tax? It is clear that NPPs position is that Gov’t needs revenue and revenue will come through taxes that we need to streamline. Gov’t is too big to go into a moral conversation because the thing has existed for years. Sammy Gyamfi himself made the argument that if we have to bet, then we must make sure that revenues from betting go into sports management. Bottom line is, he not against the taxing of betting.”
Akosua Manu

Gov’t Has Every Right To Tax

According to Akosua Manu, the government has every right to tax each person’s income because doing so will allow it to raise money for public works projects like building roads and infrastructure.

She referred to a statement made public by the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) Youth Wing and said she could not understand why the youth wing wanted to get rid of the 10% tax on winning bets yet, Sammy Gyamfi, the NDC’s National Communications Officer, backed the tax.

The Deputy CEO of N.Y.A also asserted that when economies developed and new businesses emerged, there was a corresponding ecology of revenue from whatever activities people engaged in for financial gain.

She stated that as a result, the government became aware of this and guaranteed that the company was operating legally, as well as making sure that taxes were paid to the government. “So, it is not an introduction of a new tax but rather, it is an amendment of the income tax,” she opined.

“You are working, so you are actually taxed on your salary. You do not make your argument that Gov’t didn’t help you find your job and as a result, Gov’t has no business taxing you. Nobody makes that argument. Or somebody started a business and says that you didn’t help me as Gov’t to get my capital or my startup, as such, I’m not paying you taxes…Nobody says that.
“Now, when we come to the conversation on taxing games, casinos, sports bet and draws and whatnot, you tax essentially to gain revenue. Now the argument is that there is a lot of revenues generated from these games. If we make a conclusive argument that it is only young people who are unemployed with no means to earn a keep, who are engaged in gambling, we would be wrong. Because you’d find out that there are a lot of professional people who are also involved in it.”
Akosua Manu