11 Feb Amendment of the NLA

NLRC SEEKS SPEEDY PASSAGE OF THE NATIONAL GAMING BILL

The Director-General, National Lottery Regulatory Commission Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila has appealed to the Leadership of the National Assembly to speed up the amendment of the National Lottery Act and passage of the National Gaming Bill, so as to ensure improved revenue generation capacity of the Commission for the Federal Government.

Mr. Gbajabiamila made the plea at the public hearing recently organised by the House of Representatives in relation to repealing the National Lottery Act No 7, 2005 and the National Lottery (Amendment) No 6, 2017, and enacting the National Gaming Bill (HB1288).

Whilst appreciating the efforts of the House Committee on Governmental Affairs (organisers of the public hearing), Mr. Gbajabiamila revealed that the early passage of the Bill would provide for the establishment of a Central Monitoring System (CMS) which would have the capacity to deliver real-time online transactions monitoring (which enforces compliance), responsible gaming management, tax control management, money laundering management, gaming industry performance analysis, gaming licensing management, gaming odds management, statistics and reporting, ticket management, revenue sharing by all stakeholders, universally accepted and tested monitoring system.

According to the DG, the CMS captures information of every sales transaction from registered gaming operators’ platforms irrespective of the gaming type offered which would enable Nigeria to be among the nations with strongly regulated markets, adopting technology to enhance revenue generation for Good Causes.

The DG, NLRC further revealed that the new Bill shall also cover Consumer Sales Promotion, Online Interactive Games, Scratch Card Games, Online Casino Games, and Mobile Value-Added Service Games for accountability and transparency in the industry. 

Mr. Gbajabiamila, further revealed that the new Bill assures more revenue for the nation and improved welfare package for staff of the Commission and all stakeholders, adding that the industry through the Bill would be sanitised to rid it of illegal operators.

The NLRC boss further stated that the Commission has an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and collaborations with relevant government agencies to help in tracking illegal operations and curtailing revenue leakages in the sector, lauding the efforts of the law enforcement agencies for supporting the Commission in the fight against illegal operators.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the House Committee on Governmental Affairs, Hon. Akin Alabi, pleaded for a better synergy between the Federal and State regulators, as well as advising operators to close ranks and ensure a win-win situation for everyone, to be backed with proper legislation. He noted that no one can do without the other in the present digital world. 

He condemned the activities of illegal lottery operations and advised the Commission to come down heavily against remote gaming, which he said was making the government lose revenue to foreign illegal operators adding that they should be taxed. 

The Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, represented by the Deputy Leader of the House, Hon. Peter Akpatason, stated that the Bill was deserving legislation and urged the House to produce an objective review of the Bill for the best interest of all citizens.  

During an interactive session, the Chairman, Lottery Operators, Mr. Chima Onwuka appreciated the effort of the House and called for clarification on the issues with the National Game and protection of core Operators by the Bill while Mr. Adewale Akande, the Head of Legal Bet9ja called for a Dispute Resolution Mechanism to resolve every litigation issues in contention around the acquisition of the CMS.

By Goselle Thomas & Chinyere Odinukwe