GHANA Law and Practice Contributed by: David Yaw Danquah, Legalstone Solicitors PRUC
The licence approval process may take two to three months as the company directors are required to subject to a criminal background check. Further- more, the company is required to meet other institu- tional requirements for the grant of the licence. These include registering and obtaining the Ghana Invest- ment Promotion Centre (GIPC) certificate and the data protection certificate, among others. There are no limits to the number of licences required by the Gaming Commission of Ghana. However, due to established protocols and the prevailing circum- stances, the Gaming Commission may decide to temporarily freeze the grant of licences, which is rare A games-of-chance licence issued under the Gaming Act is valid for 12 months and may be renewed on payment of annual renewal fees approved by the Gov- erning Board of the Gaming Commission of Ghana. Section 44 of Act 721 establishes that a licence for all categories of games of chance shall be valid for 12 months, subject to the established renewal pro- cesses. 4.6 Application Requirements The requirement for granting a game-of-chance licence is established under Section 14 of Act 721. Thus, a person qualifies for the grant of a licence if that person: • has an identifiable office; • has a service mark logo registered with the Regis- trar of Companies; • has the required minimum stated capital under Section 22 and has agreed to maintain the amount of cash or cash equivalent determined by the Gam- ing Commission under Section 23 of Act 721; • has submitted a criminal clearance certificate in respect of all directors of the company; under the prevailing regime. 4.5 Duration of Licences • agrees to permit the Gaming Commission to have access to the records of its bank accounts and other financial records; • has submitted a tax clearance certificate; • is partly or wholly Ghanaian owned; and
• agrees to provide any other information that the Gaming Commission may require. The Gaming Commission, upon considering the above conditions for a licence, may grant an appli- cant a licence for the operation of a game of chance in Ghana. However, the Gaming Commission may take a decision not to grant a licence if any of the directors of the applicant has been adjudged insolvent or bank- rupt and has not been discharged, made an assess- ment or arrangement or composition with creditors which has not been rescinded or set aside or been convicted by a court or tribunal of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty and an appeal against conviction has not been brought or having been brought was withdrawn or dismissed. Additionally, there is no regulatory difference in Gha- na’s licence application for online and land-based operations. The applicants are expected to follow the set formula established by Act 721. Applicants are expected to meet the format specified by Act 721 and any requirements put forward by the Gaming Com- mission from time to time. Further, directors of an applicant are expected to provide the Gaming Com- mission with their CV as part of the licensing process. A careful consideration or reading of Act 721 and the GIPC Act concludes that a prospective licence opera- tor must have a local partner who should hold at least 10% of the company’s issued shares at any time. The law mandates the Gaming Commission to, with- in 12 months after receipt of the application, grant a licence to the applicant if it is satisfied that the appli- cant: • satisfies the condition required for a licence; and • pays the licence fee. However, where the board of the Gaming Commission refuses to grant a licence to the applicant, the board is mandated to inform the applicant in writing of its decision and reasons within seven days after making that decision. An applicant who is refused a licence by the board may petition the Minister of the Interior for redress. If the applicant is not satisfied with the decision of the Minister of the Interior, the applicant
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