Ghana FA reaffirms ban on authorised betting odds for domestic matches

Ghana Football Association President Kurt Okraku says no betting company has been authorised by the association to offer odds on domestic football, reaffirming a longstanding policy as the GFA steps up efforts to protect competitions from match-fixing and betting-related manipulation.

The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has reiterated that no betting company has been licensed by the association to offer odds on domestic football matches. President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku restated the position during the GFA’s 32nd Ordinary Congress at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence in Prampram on August 20.

Okraku presented the restriction as part of the association’s wider integrity strategy ahead of the 2026/27 domestic season. “No betting company has been licensed to place odds on domestic games,” he told delegates. The GFA argues that limiting unauthorised betting markets can reduce opportunities and financial incentives associated with attempts to manipulate match outcomes.

Importantly, the announcement is a reaffirmation rather than an entirely new policy. Okraku made a similar declaration at the GFA’s Congress in August 2024, when he warned betting companies against using Ghana Premier League match data without the association’s approval. The GFA subsequently sought assistance from the Gaming Commission over companies it said continued to offer betting markets on its competitions without authorisation.

The distinction is relevant because the GFA’s position concerns permission to use and commercialise its domestic competitions for betting purposes. It should not be interpreted as a claim that Ghana has prohibited all licensed sports betting nationally. Rather, the football association maintains that betting companies have not received GFA authorisation to offer odds on its domestic matches.

Match manipulation and illegal betting have become increasingly important areas of cooperation between the GFA and law-enforcement authorities. In August 2025, the association and the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service strengthened their collaboration specifically around match manipulation, illegal betting and football-related disorder.

The renewed warning comes shortly before the start of the 2026/27 Ghana Premier League, which will begin over the weekend of September 4–7. The new campaign will feature 18 clubs and is scheduled to run until the weekend of May 28–31, 2027. The GFA has also expanded domestic broadcast coverage as it seeks to increase the commercial value and visibility of its competitions.

For the GFA, maintaining control over betting-related use of domestic matches is therefore becoming part of a broader effort to protect both sporting integrity and the commercial value of Ghanaian football. The latest statement does not introduce a new national gambling law, but it sends a clear message to betting businesses ahead of the new season: offering markets on GFA competitions without the association’s approval remains contrary to its policy.