for early access to the latest igaming videos!
and get the latest igaming news first!
The Centre for Policy Scrutiny (CPS) has warned that Ghana’s decision to abolish the Betting Tax, alongside the Electronic Levy (E‑Levy) and COVID‑19 Levy, is costing the country more than GH¢13 billion in revenue each year.
According to the think tank, this loss comes at a time when government spending pressures remain high and fiscal space is already tight. CPS noted that while the levies were controversial, they had started to provide some stabilty, especially the E-Levy and COVID-19 Levy, which were introduced during the economic downturn triggered by the pandemic and global shocks such as the Russia‑Ukraine war.
“These taxes were introduced under very difficult economic conditions to help stabilise the economy and support vulnerable populations,” the centre stated.
Speaking at its monthly forum on the theme “Assessing the abolishment of the E‑Levy, COVID‑19 Levy and the Betting Tax: Fiscal impact and Equity Considerations”, lead member Isaac Danso Agyiri stressed that the removal of these measures had come at a steep price.
“This amount could have funded the construction of over 10,000 modern school facilities across the country, significantly reducing the infrastructure deficit in the education sector,” he emphasised.
GRA dismisses revenue fears
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has pushed back against concerns that scrapping the E‑Levy, COVID‑19 levy and betting tax would leave a major hole in government finances. Officials pointed to stronger‑than‑expected collections in the first quarter of 2026 as proof that revenue performance has not weakened.
At a forum hosted by the Centre for Policy Scrutiny, Elsie Appau Klu, Technical Advisor to the Commissioner‑General, explained that the initial expectation was that abolishing the three taxes would hurt government income.
“Initially, like any person would think, yes, of course, abolishing these three taxes were considered as losses to government, and it puts some pressure on our staff,” she said.
She went on to highlight that collections have exceeded projections. “This first quarter we have achieved 20% more than what we’ve collected last year. The GRA has collected 33.7 billion Ghana cedis, which is 20% more than what we collected when you compare it to the figures of the same first quarter of last year,” she added.
Source: Ghana Broadcasting Corporation
