Nigerian government addresses gambling regulation woes

Shirley Pulis Xerxen October 2, 2023

The Nigerian government has made a commitment to address various challenges facing the country’s efforts in tackling gambling regulation. This includes the implementation of a much-anticipated central monitoring system (CMS) “as soon as possible”.

During a recent visit to the National Lottery Regulatory Commission’s (NLRC) office on September 22, Zaphaniah Jisalo, the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, also committed to enhance salaries and working conditions at the NLRC.

Jisalo aims to assist the NLRC in overcoming its substantial hurdles, such as significant financial losses to illegal gaming operators in the country and issues related to corruption, as stated in a press release by the ministry on September 22.

According to an NLRC press release on September 29 documenting the Minister’s visit to the NLRC Headquarters in Abuja, the Minister committed to expediting the legislative process for the Lottery Act, recognizing the need for a fresh start due to past challenges. He gave his assurance that this legislative effort would result in the enactment of a new law within a 90-day period.

Jisalo emphasized that strengthening cooperation with the NLRC is crucial to President Bola Tinubu’s 8-Point Agenda which focuses on objectives like food security, poverty alleviation, economic growth, job creation, access to capital, inclusivity, upholding the rule of law, and combating corruption.

The NLRC has persistently advocated for swift legal amendments to modernize the country’s regulatory framework and has championed the need for a CMS for several years.

Anticipated for early 2021, the CMS has yet to be implemented, with a federal task force formed in 2020 during the interim to recover an expected N8 billion (€17.7 million) in overdue gambling taxes.

Nigerian gaming regulation woes

Vixio has reported that in July 2021, George Akume, the former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, expressed disappointment over the meager revenue generated by Nigeria’s gambling industry for the government in 2019, amounting to less than N1 billion (€2 million), during a speech at the National Gaming Conference. He deemed this revenue as unsustainable and unacceptable.

More recently, speaking during a panel last month, Olabimpe Akingba, the executive secretary of the Association of Nigerian Bookmakers said that the current gaming market in Nigeria is facing a number of challenges. He referred to the ongoing legal dispute between state and federal gaming regulators regarding which of the two has the right to regulate gaming operators in the country. Akingba accused regulators of focusing of shrugging their responsibilities related to responsible gaming.

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