The National Lottery Authority (NLA) has re-launched its Caritas Lottery Platform that allows corporate organisations, businesses and individuals to run consumer promotions and related activities through lottery and raffle draws.

All revenue generated from the platform would be used for social responsibility projects through the Good Causes Foundation (GCF), previously known as Social Projects, which was also launched at the ceremony held in Accra on Wednesday.

First established in November 2012, the platform which derives its name; ‘Caritas’ from the Latin word meaning love and compassion, is in line with Section 2(3) of the National Lotto Act 2006 (Act 722).

It states; “There shall be conducted as part of the operations of National Lotto, a lottery with the objective of providing care and protection for the physically and mentally afflicted, the needy, the aged, orphans and destitute children.”

The Director General of NLA, Samuel Awuku said the foundation would operate in four areas; education, health, youth and sports development and culture, through which it would offer scholarships; provide logistics to schools; support health facilities and embark on medical outreaches.

He said it would also provide capacity building for youth, support sporting activities, assist Small and Medium Scale Enterprises owned by young people, and create entrepreneurship opportunities for people with disability and special needs.

Aside from the GHC250 million contributed to the Consolidated Fund in the past ten years, he said, NLA had undertaken diverse charity works across the country, as well as globally through the World Lottery Association which injected $76 billion to good causes.

Mr Awuku said the Charitas platform would continue to help organizations especially financial institutions to enhance product sales and sanitize the fraudulent customer promotion space and assured corporate Ghana of flexible fees.

“This is not a profit-making venture and we must all join forces to make our society better,” he said.

The Chief of Staff at the Presidency, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, said the inability of the platform to make the intended impact was because of neglect so she charged the NLA to sustain it, with a call on corporate Ghana to patronize the platform to promote their business and also support the foundation.

“The NLA, under the Act 722 is the only body with the mandate to regulate and conduct lottery in Ghana and without such a platform, it would be illegal for corporate Ghana and individuals to, on their own, engage in any raffle draws or lotteries,” she said.

The Board Chairman of NLA, Togbui Francis Albert Nyonyo, said as part of efforts to help revenue mobilisation, the NLA would next month clamp down on all unlicenced private lotto operators and soon collaborate with counterparts in the region to introduce common games.