‘We taxed bet winnings, not lottery winnings’ – Former Finance Minister sets record straight

Former Finance Minister Dr Mohammed Amin Adam has clarified that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration only implemented taxes on bet winnings and not on lottery winnings.

He countered claims that the government erroneously imposed a betting tax that was later abolished.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, March 17, he insisted that his previous statements on the matter were accurate and criticized the current Finance Minister for misrepresenting the issue in Parliament.

“I did not err. What you just read are my words,” Dr. Amin Adam stated firmly.

“I said that the betting tax they say they have abolished—qualified the word that—because the minister came to Parliament and said he’s going to abolish withholding tax on winnings from the lottery, otherwise known as betting tax as if to equate betting tax to winnings from the lottery.

“Meanwhile, in their manifesto, they said they were going to abolish a 10% withholding tax on bet winnings.”

He explained that the tax on lottery winnings was never implemented under the NPP government, despite claims that it had been collected and later abolished.

“That’s what I’m saying, that it wasn’t implemented. And the minister came to Parliament and said that tax—otherwise known as betting tax.

“So my point was that while he’s calling it betting tax, that tax has not been collected. We never implemented that,” he emphasised.

When pressed on which tax was actually enforced under his tenure, he clarified, “It was the tax on bet winnings. And that was why the minister was gracious enough to come back to Parliament and correct himself.

“He came back and said they promised to withdraw or to abolish taxes on bet winnings, and that is what he was laying the bill in Parliament.”

According to Dr. Amin Adam, while the withholding tax on bet winnings was implemented, the withholding tax on lottery winnings was never put into effect.

He argued that the Finance Minister’s initial statement in Parliament conflated the two, leading to confusion.

“The withholding tax on winnings from betting was implemented, but the withholding tax on winnings from lotto was not implemented,” he stated.

“So when you come to Parliament and say, winnings from lotto, and I know that it wasn’t implemented, and then you call that betting tax, I was challenging him on that.”

He stood by his claim that there was a fundamental misunderstanding in the way the current Finance Minister presented the issue, leading to unnecessary controversy.

“That is why I said that the betting tax they say they have abolished—which is that betting tax? The winnings from the lotto, which he referred to as a betting tax, was not collected. And that is a fact,” he stressed.

Dr Amin Adam further revealed that he had chaired meetings to discuss how the lottery winnings tax could be implemented, following petitions from the National Lottery Authority.

He questioned why the Finance Minister was not specific in his initial remarks if he later had to return to Parliament to clarify.

“I know for a fact because I chaired meetings to discuss how to implement it, following petitions from the National Lottery Authority.

“And so if the Minister has come back to correct it, to say he meant winnings from bet winnings, then I’m wondering why he was not specific in the first place,” he argued.

His comments come amid growing debate over the NPP administration’s tax policies, particularly on gambling and lottery winnings.

While the opposition has claimed that the previous government unfairly imposed taxes on lottery winners, Dr Amin Adam maintains that only bet winnings were taxed, and the lottery tax was never implemented.

With this clarification, he hopes to put to rest any misconceptions about the NPP’s tax measures, insisting that the government acted within legal and policy guidelines throughout its tenure.