Nigerian football legend Kanu Nwankwo has launched the N1 billion Jackpot Lotto to support Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF) which was inaugurated in 2000.

The Foundation has helped not just people in Nigeria, but also paid for 538 children to be treated at facilities throughout the world

Kanu, a philanthropist, launched the biggest lotto in Africa to raise funds for the Foundation to help build a specialist cardiac hospital in Abuja.

The jackpot, starting at N1 billion, will be run in conjunction with AfroMillonsLotto (www.AfroMillionsLotto.com).

It offers twice-weekly draws with bigger jackpots than all the lotteries in Nigeria combined, as well as being the largest jackpot anywhere in Africa.

Twenty per cent of every ticket sold will go directly to KHF to help it continue its work of ensuring underprivileged children across Africa with heart problems get the treatment they needed.

At the launch in 2000, Kanu said: “We are excited to launch this major fund-raising initiative for the Kanu Heart Foundation and hope people support it by buying tickets, helping us to build a new heart hospital for Nigeria.

“Not only could people change their own life with the potential to win the jackpot of over N1 billion, they can help to change the lives of other people by supporting our Foundation.”

The first KHF.AfroMillionsLotto.com draw will hold on Wednesday.

The website also offers nine, ‘Candy Crush’ style Instant Win games, which can be played for fun or to win cash prizes of up to N12 million.

If there is no jackpot winner, the prize money rolls over, increasing by N100 million with each draw until it reaches a maximum of over N2 billion.

AfroMillionsLotto is the Nigerian Professional Football League’s (NPFL) new lotto.

“Winners of the jackpot could afford one of the most expensive homes on sale in Nigeria, the wedding of their dreams, a chrome-plated Ferrari and still have money left over!

“Another huge benefit of buying your ticket on-line with AfroMillionsLotto is the fact you’ll receive an alert via email if you’ve won.

“Millions of cash prizes go unclaimed every year as people forget to check whether they have a winning ticket,” Mr. Shehu Dikko, an official of the organisation said in a statement.

Each NPFL club, he said, would have its own lotto website so football fans could support their favourite team.

“Every time someone buys a ticket or pays to play, that club will receive a percentage of the revenue to help fund player development, contribute to stadium and pitch improvements as well as support community-based projects.” (NAN)

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