Claim: The 10% betting tax was never collected
Source: Mohammed Amin Adam; former Finance Minister, MP for Karaga
Verdict: False
Researched by Nusrat Essah
On March 11, 2025, the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, presented the 2025 budget to Parliament with major announcements on the abolishing of some taxes introduced by the erstwhile Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.
The Minister’s specific statement that: “We will abolish the 10% withholding tax on winnings from lottery, otherwise known as the “Betting Tax”,” has however, attracted wide reactions.
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Moments after Ato Forson’s presentation, the Minority Caucus led by former Minister for Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam held a press conference among others challenging Ato Forson’s declaration of abolishing the betting tax.
“Betting tax that they said they have abolished, we never collected Betting Tax. So to come and tell Ghanaians that you have abolished something that you have not implemented, is to deceive the people of Ghana,” Amin Adam said.
The fact-check report seeks to verify whether the betting tax was implemented.
Fact-Check
In verifying the claim, GhanaFact revisited an October 6, 2023 interview Channel One News had with the Commissioner for the Ghana Revenue Authority’s Domestic Tax Revenue Division, Edward Gyamerah.
During the interview, the commissioner indicated that GRA had generated GH¢15 million from the betting tax.
“The betting, we have two streams of taxes. We have the Gross Gaming Revenue tax, then we have the withholding tax. For the first month that we implemented, we got average for the GGR, average about 20 million a month, then for the withholding, we have just started the season… the betting season, so in the lean season, we were doing around 15 million cedis.
“We are hoping this will quadruple in the major season. And the major season for the betting is from this month up to May. So even when we get to December, we will be able to project the expected revenue.”
Furthermore, GhanaFact contacted one of the sport betting platforms, Sportybet Ghana, via email, requesting information on the 10% withholding tax on bet winnings.
In response to our email, SportyBet confirmed taxing bet winnings, adding: “The Finance Minister announced the 10% withholding tax (WH tax) removal in the 2025 budget. You will no longer be taxed for withdrawals once the Budget is passed.”
There have also been instances where punters have posted their slips online to prove that the 10% tax was deducted from their winnings.
Fig 1: Screenshot of SportyBet’s response
In an interview with Joy 99.7 FM shared on Facebook, the Deputy Ranking Member of the Finance Committee and Member of Parliament for Tano North, Gideon Boako, clarified details of the Income Tax Amendment Act, 2023(Act 1096), which introduced multiple tax components on games of chance including:
- 10% withholding tax on lottery winnings
- 10% betting tax
- 20% tax on Gross Gaming Revenue(GGR).
He explained that contrary to the Minister’s claim that 10% withholding tax on lottery winnings was going to be abolished, that handle was not implemented, “the betting tax was implemented, what we normally called the betting tax, but the 10% withholding tax on lotto winnings was never implemented,” he stressed.
Another NPP MP, Patrick Yaw Boamah (Okaikwei Central) in an interview on privately-owned Lawson TV confirmed that betting tax was being implemented.
“… We have betting, casinos, football bets, and all, and I’m sure that is what the youth are referring to. First off, the 10% withholding tax on gaming, which many refer to as the betting tax, exists (is being implemented). The tax on (lottery) winnings, which [Amin Adam] sought to explain, was never implemented,” he said.
Also, on the JoyNews’ PM Express show, the Finance Minister responded to the claim by Amin Adam, reiterating that the betting tax had been implemented.
“I don’t think he is on top of that matter because my checks reveal that it was implemented in the second half of 2024. My checks also reveal that year to date, the Government of Ghana has collected over GH₵80 million from the betting tax. So I don’t know what he is talking about. It is not the fact, the fact on the ground does not support his assertion, and clearly, the betting tax was implemented,” he said.
The details above confirmed the implementation of the 10% betting tax by the Finance Ministry under the Akufo-Addo-led government.
Verdict
The claim by Mohammed Amin Adam that the 10% betting tax was never implemented is false.
