Carousel Ltd, a Rwandan registered company, last week launched a national lottery in Rwanda with a goal to uplift professional sport in the country. The lottery, which was launched in partnership with the Ministry of Sports, will operate under the commercial brand – Inzozi Lotto.
The New Times’s Patrick Nzabonimpa had an exclusive interview with Thierry Nshuti, Deputy Managing Director of Carousel Ltd and he shed more light on the new product.
Briefly, what is Inzozi Lotto?
Inzozi Lotto is a lottery game which was established following the laws of the Government of Rwanda (Law no 58/2011 of 21/12/2011 Article 22) and falls into the goals of national lottery where, by the law, the government has the right to establish a lottery game in order to support socio-economic activities.
The Government has partnered with Carousel Ltd to establish, for a period of ten years, the National Lottery of Rwanda and we named it Inzozi Lotto.
Is there a specific reason you named it Inzozi Lotto?
Yes, because our game will focus more on supporting sports development and we think that every Rwandan has a dream to see Rwandans getting trophies and medals in international games.
That dream, which we want to satisfy, has pushed us to name the product Inzozi Lotto which literally means "Dream Lotto”.
How does it work and how can people play?
Inzozi Lotto has two games. The first game is called Quick Lotto which happens every ten minutes. You can stop by one of our agents around the street or visit our website www.inzozilotto.rw to play. You can also simply dial *240 and follow instructions. To play Quick Lotto one will be asked to choose one number within 35 (0 to 34) and precise the stake amount. Every ten minutes, our system will draw a number and if you match the number, you will win times 15 tax exclusive of the stake amount played. It is a promo scheme. For example: if for the number you choose the stake amount was RWF 100 you will get RWF1500.
The second game is called Jackpot Lotto where the player selects a series of six numbers within a pool of 49 numbers that start from 1 to 49, to make it one combination. Every Sunday at 7pm on RTV we will unveil the winning combination plus one bonus number. Players winning the jackpot are the ones who matched with the winning combination without considering the order of the numbers.
Where does the money go?
47% of the revenues goes back in the market as winnings. On average 20% of the revenues through the licenses period will be allocated to the Ministry of Sports to support sports development programs as established by the Minister of Sports.
Who is eligible to play?
First of all, you need to be 18 or above to be able to play. To be eligible to play, you are advised to top up your mobile money or Inzozi wallet which are directly linked.
Is there a way you notify winners?
If you play online, you directly get your winnings in your Inzozi account. If you play by using POS terminal, you are required to go to an agent and check your ticket to claim your winnings.
How can people contact you?
We are now establishing our call center which should be 2424, but is still under technical maintenance. Otherwise, our social media are working; Inzozi Lotto on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and we can reply to any queries people may have.
Our office is located at Chic, 2nd Floor and we welcome everyone to join us and ask what they would like to know.