- To raise additional revenue to fund the public purse, the Ghanaian government has imposed a 10% tax on bet wins.
The 10 percent Ghana Tax Bet Wins is already making waves as stakeholders are expressing mixed feelings over the directive.
Bettors, on the other hand, find the government’s decision to be absolutely unacceptable, as they have continued to register their displeasure every chance they get.
From an interview we stumble upon at Africa Tax Review, an indignant bettor revealed how badly this would affect him, stating that it is bad enough that bettors lose a lot to gambling and the one time they do win, they have to kick back 10% of their winnings to the government.
Other aggrieved parties are mentioning that it is unfair that the government is not doing much to help improve the lives of the citizens and the little that they’ve managed to build for themselves is being taken from them.
Ghana Tax Bet Wins: CBOG Reacts
Additionally, a group referring to itself as Concerned Bettors of Ghana (CBOG) in a statement signed by its convener Richard Aguda, blatantly rejected the 10% tax all betting, games and lottery wins, and advised the government against going through with the imposition.
The group pleaded that the government not assent to the bill, stating that betting has become a source of livelihood for millions of Ghanaian youths who are striving to succeed without doing illegal things.
The Growth Of Betting Platforms in Ghana
Over the years, betting platforms in Ghana have experienced substantial growth, to the extent that the West African country is now regarded as one of the biggest betting markets in Africa.
A large percentage of Ghanian youths engage in gambling on a regular basis and now rely heavily on it as a source of livelihood.
Due to a predominant love for sports among Ghanaians, the most popular form of betting in the country is sports betting.
What Has Caused This Rapid Growth?
As a result of an inflow of mobile devices, availability of internet connection, and online money transfer platforms, it has become incredibly easy for many Ghanaians to bet on games of their favourite teams anywhere, any day, and anytime.
These are some of the factors that have contributed to the rapid growth of betting platforms in Ghana.
Effects of Betting
There have been some arguments for betting as an alternative option to the illegal activities that seem to have become rampant among youths these days.
Betting serves as an avenue for income generation, and this has kept a lot of youths from engaging in illegitimate activities that will get them thrown into jail.
However, there have been concerns over the negative effect of betting, which is the loss that many bettors incur in the process of trying to win, over and over again.
Due to the issue of addiction, many youths make use of any money they have on them to place bets whenever they feel the urge to do so.
This presents a serious problem as it ends up leading them to incurring heavy debts and might not even get any returns at the end of the day.
A good example is students placing bets with the money meant for their tuition.
There have also been media reports on salary earners who used their entire pay and company finances to place bets, hoping to win big but unfortunately lost it all.
Betting Statistics
According to the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), out of 17 million internet users documented in Ghana in 2022, about 11.18 million people use the internet to visit sports betting sites.
Also, according to Statista, in 2021, the market size of the sports betting and lottery sector worldwide was estimated at $194.63 billion.
This number depicts an increase from the preceding year’s total of 172.89 billion and by 2022, the market was forecast to reach 231.33 billion.
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