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An Accra Circuit Court has discharged eleven (11) accused persons previously operating illegal lottery popularly known as Banker to Banker.

The eleven who were part of seventeen persons arrested during a swoop in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, were discharged on the grounds that they will not revert to the sale of Banker to Banker lotto.

The former Banker to Banker lotto operators who have undergone training at NLA’s Lotto School expressed excitement at the Authority’s decision to regularize them as retailers and withdraw the charges against them.

Janet Kisiwa and Dennis Kwesi Boakye, both discharged accused persons, in an interview said until now they believed obtaining a Point of Sale Terminal (POST) from NLA was cumbersome. They urged their colleagues to desist from the sale of Banker to Banker lotto and join NLA to enjoy prompt payment of commissions.

Director General of National Lottery Authority, Brig. Gen Martin Ahiaglo (Rtd) commended the new recruits for coming on board to help contribute to national development.

He said NLA does not take delight in prosecuting culprits and that is why the accused persons were given the opportunity to be trained and given NLA POSTs so they can sell lotto the right way.

In another case, Seven (7) accused persons arrested in Accra in another swoop have also been regularized.

The court ordered that monies retrieved from the accused persons totaling Six thousand, one hundred and fifty five Ghana cedis (Ghs 6,155.00) during the swoop be used by the discharged persons to augment the retail of lotto on the POSTs allocated to them.

The operation was conducted by the National Lottery Authority (NLA) in conjunction with the Ghana Police Service.