Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has refuted claims by former Finance Minister Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam that the previous administration never collected the betting tax.
Speaking in response to Dr. Amin Adam’s remarks on Tuesday, March 11, Dr. Forson insisted that the tax was implemented in the second half of 2024 and had generated over GH₵80 million in revenue.
“I don’t think he’s on top of that matter because my checks revealed that it was implemented, and my checks also reveal that year-to-date, the government of Ghana has collected over GH₵80 million from betting tax,” he stated.
Dr. Amin Adam, at a press conference following the 2025 Budget Statement presentation, accused the NDC government of misleading Ghanaians by claiming to abolish a tax that was never collected.
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He maintained that while the law was passed in 2023, the NPP government did not enforce the 10% withholding tax on sports betting and lottery winnings before leaving office.
“To come and tell Ghanaians that you have abolished something that you have not implemented is to deceive the people of Ghana,” he asserted.
The betting tax, which was met with strong opposition from industry stakeholders and bettors, became a key issue during the 2024 election campaign.
In August 2024, then-NPP presidential candidate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia vowed to scrap the tax along with the controversial E-Levy.
The NDC government has since followed through on its promise to abolish the betting tax in the 2025 budget, but the debate over whether it was ever enforced remains a contentious political issue.
