Minister Habineza tries his luck. (photo Timothy Kisambira)

Philippe Brizzoua the director of Lotto Rwanda which organizes the lottery, explained that there are two sides to their business. “Lotto Rwanda is about fun games, such as the lottery and casinos, through which people can make their dreams come true,” he said.

“On the other hand, we are also raising funds to support government programs toward the achievement of Vision 2020,” he added.

Brizzoua said they Lotto intends to run its business professionally, according to international standards and on a profitability basis, in order to raise funds for sports, art and culture. He added that their corporate social responsibility policy is aligned with the social priorities of the government and other public bodies.

“We’re aiming to play a big role to improve living standards and contribute to fighting poverty via fast and permanent revenue redistribution, and by doing this we hope that we shall help in stabilizing the Rwanda economy,” Brizzoua remarked.

The Lotto director further explained that 300 handsets had already been distributed, to be used to sell tickets for the game, a draw of which is to take place on December 20.

During the launch, one lucky Rwandan, Bedane Mfitimukiza from Gasibo, already experienced the benefits of Lotto. He received one million francs which he won in a radio game organized by Lotto. Other prizes distributed were fridges, cassette and DVD players.