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The National Lottery Authority of Ghana has not been certified by the World Lottery Association, an international organization of state-authorized lotteries, sports betting operators and suppliers to the global lottery industry.

The World Lottery Association (WLA) has a mission to advance the collective interests of its members and facilitate their development through the provision of lottery and betting related services, according to its website.

According to the Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Sammy Awuku, the NLA has now initiated steps for the WLA's authentication.

"When you go in the annals or the books of the World Lottery Association, NLA is not one of the authorities recognized for responsible gaming. We are at level 1; level 1 is simply zero. We've taken steps. As I speak to you, we've written to them because there are processes to follow if you have to be certified for responsible gaming", he revealed this in an interview with host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme.

Mr. Awuku was optimistic that the NLA will be certified by the WLA by the end of this year.

He also disclosed that the NLA was kicked out of the African Lottery Association (ALA) but after his appointment as the CEO of the Authority, he's ensured they regain admission into the ALA.

"...the African Lottery Association, NLA was part and was kicked out. They cite some few reasons. [1] We were not paying our dues. [2] We were also not going by the tenets of the Association and [3] they were not too sure about our operations. Luckily for us, we've been readmitted since February this year. We are also a paid-up members of ALA", he said.