LASPAA Rejects Promoters’ Proposal To Lagos Govt

The Lagos State Pools Agents Association, LASPAA, says it won’t accept the plan by promoters to recommend 1-12 full odds payment to the Lagos State Government as a benchmark for payment of winnings in pools business in the state.

President of the agents association, Major Sammy Ogunyebo (retd.) told P.M.NEWS the association learnt that the promoters, acting on the letter sent by the Internal Revenue Service of the state government to them, met to peg the odds payment regime to 1-12 full odds.

According to Sammy, the letter signed by Director, Personal Income Tax, Lanre Adeniyi, has directed the promoters to harmonise the inconsistent odds payment in the market and ensure that a uniform odds is put in place by 15 June.

“We heard that the promoters have decided to propose to the government 1-12 odds payment without due consultations with other stakeholders in the business when the Edict 1986 on Pools stipulates 1-14 full payment. We in LASPA won’t be part of this illegality and we oppose it,” said Ogunyebo. “I want to say that any civil servant in the Internal Revenue Service that approves this illegality for the promoters is doing this at his own peril. We are ready to take it up with Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola and the state House of Assembly because the edict has not been amended,” the president warned.

“What the agents want is strict compliance with the law which stipulates 1-14 full odds payment, 15-16 half payment, 17 and above quarter payment. We don’t want 4-1, while no commission to stakers should be printed on the coupons of all promoters operating in Lagos State.

“If these and our recommendations in the proposal we sent to Governor Fashola are implemented, sanity will return to pools business in the state. It is on record that the government is losing a lot of revenue in pools. Promoters are not paying the required fees, agents are not forthcoming in the payments for licences, ID Cards and tax, he added.