The flagbearer of the All People’s Congress (APC), Dr. Hassan Ayariga, says if elected president of Ghana next year, he will create more jobs for the country’s teeming unemployed youth to discourage them from engaging in sports betting.
According to him, gambling, particularly sports betting, has created an avenue for Ghanaian youth to be lazy, adding that such a lifestyle retards the country’s progress and is detrimental to the well-being of those addicted to sports betting.
Dr. Ayariga reiterated that the youth of this country require lucrative jobs for a living; thus, the alarming rate of youth involvement in sports betting is very concerning and has the potential to ruin their future if pragmatic measures to address the issue are not implemented.
“I will create an avenue for more jobs for the teeming youth when I become the President of Ghana,” he said.
“I will cancel betting and make it illegal in Ghana. I would rather replace gambling with industrialized jobs for the youth because that is not the option.”
Dr. Ayariga believes that betting is a lazy man’s approach to becoming successful in life and does not in any way encourage hard work, noting that it’s a zero-sum adventure that, if not regulated, will go a long way toward corrupting the youth in the country.
Meanwhile, as part of regulating sports betting in the country, the Ghana Revenue Authority has implemented a 10% tax on winnings from betting.
By Lawrence Odoom
