The President of the World Lottery Association (WLA), Andreas Kotter, says the WLA is committed to strengthening and supporting its member states in Africa to send a positive signal and boost their confidence.
Mr Kotter, together with two other officials of the WLA, Lucas Esposito, WLA Executive Director and Francois Pellaud-Pautrot, WLA Events Coordinator, paid a working visit to Ghana to conduct a recce in Accra on the possibility of holding the World Lottery Summit in Ghana in 2028.
The WLA President, in an interaction with the Director-General of NLA, Mr. Mohamed Abddul Salam, the Deputy Director-General of NLA, Mr. Eric Yeboah Wadie, and the Executive Management, expressed his excitement at meeting the team in Ghana and praised the Authority for its work.
“I saw your vision, that Ghana wants to have footprints and to become an organization of choice for blueprint in Africa. I think this is the right way, and you will get every support that you can get from me as a person to fulfil this vision,” Mr kotter said.
Commending the NLA for its operations and the impact it has made in society through its corporate social responsibility activities, Mr. Kotter also congratulated the NLA for gaining the trust of the Executive Committee of the WLA as a viable option for hosting the World Lottery Summit in 2028 and possibly hosting a WLA Executive Committee Meeting in June 2026.
“We are here for two reasons: to gain a good appreciation of Accra, the conference facilities, and the infrastructure, and to gain practical knowledge of what we have seen theoretically. We also want to send a signal to Africa. The Executive Committee has discussed it several times at our meeting, what signal we want to send and to which continent. I personally think it’s a good way to show confidence in Africa, as it is a place with a lot of potential. We have WLA members we want to support, and that is why we are here in person and bringing executives of this calibre who can communicate this at a high level. I’m very honoured and proud of what we have seen today, not only the conference centre but also learning about Ghana’s history, and I’m carrying these memories back home with me”. Mr. Kotter said.
The Director General of NLA, Mr. Mohammed Abdul-Salam, who shared the Authority’s history and operations with the team, also expressed his sincere gratitude to the WLA President for the visit and for the honour of being considered to host the two major events.
“Let me, on behalf of my Management, sincerely thank you not only for considering Ghana as a potential host for the World Lottery Summit (WLS) but also for physically coming to experience firsthand what Ghana has to offer. It is a memory we will treasure and never forget. It will remain with us that the President of the WLA once visited the NLA on a mission to consider us for hosting a significant event in the future”. Mr. Abdul-Salam said.
As part of the visit, the WLA delegation also visited Ghana’s Parliament House to observe the day’s proceedings and was duly acknowledged by the First Deputy Speaker, Hon Bernard Ahiafor, who was chairing the session. The delegation also called on Hon. Samuel Awuku, the Member of Parliament for Akuapim North Constituency and the immediate past Director-General of the NLA. They discussed ways the WLA can assist Ghana and Africa in combating illegal lottery activities and promoting responsible gaming, particularly regarding underage gambling.
WLA delegation
The President of the WLA, Mr. Andreas Kotter, is also the CEO of West Lotto, the largest lottery company in Germany, and chairs Euro Jackpot, a multi-jurisdictional game across 19 European nations. He is the first German to be elected as WLA President in October 2024 and is poised to strengthen the WLA as the global exchange and knowledge platform in gambling.
Mr. Lucas Esposito, WLA Executive Director, is also the General Secretary of the United Lotteries for Integrity in Sports (ULIS), formerly known as the Global Lottery Monitoring System, and has extensive knowledge and experience in technology in betting. Mr. Francois Pellaud-Pautrot oversees the coordination of the WLA’s events.
Ghana, a potential choice
Ghana could become the first West-African country to host the World Lottery Summit in 2028, if approved by the WLA Executive Committee. The National Lottery Authority will proudly add the WLS event to its list of hosted events if approved. The Authority recently hosted the African Lotteries Association (ALA) Board of Directors meeting in Accra in December 2025.
The Authority also hosted the ALA Seminar on Responsible Gaming in December 2022, which featured Madam Rebecca Paul, the immediate past WLA President, and Ms. Lynne Roiter, the General Secretary, along with other leaders from the WLA, European Lotteries (EL), and ALA. The event was attended by over 150 delegates from North America, Europe, and Africa.
