Sports Betting Permit

Stage 1: Application requirement

Applicants must submit a proposal to the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (‘The Commission”) with the following information/ documents.

  1. A duly completed application form
  2. An application letter stating the intention of the applicant
  3. Non-refundable Application and Processing fee of N2,000,000.00 (Two Million Naira) payable to the Commission
  4. Permit Fee valid for Five(5) Years, upon successful completion of all documentary processes.: N75,000,000.00 (Seventy-Five Million Naira Only)

 

General Business Information

  1. Incorporation documents: Certificate, MEMART, and Application Form 1.1 (or Form CAC2 and CAC7)
  2. Applicant’s Company must have a minimum share capital of N30,000,000.00 (Thirty Million Naira Only)
  3. Evidence of filing annual returns to date with Corporate Affairs Commission
  4. Profile of the Company and each of its Directors with copies of valid Identification
  5. Address of administrative office and locations across Nigeria
  6. Evidence of Domain name registration with (.ng)
  7. Proposed Brand: Evidence of registration with Ministry Of Trade and Investment, Trade name, logo and colours
  8. Evidence of registration with the Special Control Unit on Money Laundering (SCUML).
  9. Name and profiles of all Directors and Key Personnel including Company Secretary, Compliance Officer, Accountant, ICT Manager, Operations Manager, Agency Manager(s) and Customer Care Manager
  10. Qualification and relevant gaming industry experience of Directors or Key Personnel
  11. Evidence of tax payment by Directors and Key Management Staff for the preceding year
  12. Copy of Organogram and Proposed Organizational Structure

Operational Information

  1. Details of planned game events (live betting, sportsbook, virtual games and so on) and comprehensive modalities for each of the game events
  2. Proposed distribution channels: retail, web-based, SMS, Mobile app or other channels
  3. Operations, Marketing and Distribution Strategy showing expansion plans across Nigeria
  4. Betting modalities, Terms & Conditions of participation and game rules
  5. A Sports betting industry analysis including SWOT analysis and competitive advantage of the proposed sports betting scheme.

Financial Information

  1. The proposed investment in the sports betting scheme
  2. Source of funding and financing plans: equity, foreign investment, loans and applicable terms of investment
  3. Evidence of financial capability to fund the operation of a sports betting scheme including Company’s Bank Statement of the last 2 (Two) years
  4. Five (5) Year financial projection for the betting scheme: profit and loss account showing investment, sales/income, winnings/ prize money, tax obligation, operating expenses, third-party suppliers etc
  5. Details of payment solution provider, proposed integration plan with such providers and a service agreement with a provider.

Technical information

Profile of technical service providers, partners, telecoms providers and suppliers.

  • (i) Web developer
  • (ii) Odds providers
  • (iii) Virtual providers (if applicable)
  • (iv) Hosting provider (self-hosting or cloud hosting), database/ back up service provider
  • (v) Manufacturer of hardware: servers, decoders & terminals
  1. Details of contact persons for service providers
  2. Proposed SLA, Partnership/ Joint Venture agreements with providers and suppliers. All third-party Agreements/Contracts will be subject to the Commissions approval
  3. Software: details of operating system and database application specification
  4. Security system: provide information on types of servers, cloud, firewalls, routers and security features, redundancy implementation (where applicable)
  5. Documentation on processes and system quality assurance
  6. Architectural representation of technical operation flow for the proposed sports betting scheme
  7. Software Certification from approved and recognized testing labs.

Note: At the end of this application process, applicants will be required to make a presentation to the Commission. Application review takes 10 working days.

 

Stage 2: Provisional Approval

The provisional approval is subject to demonstration of operational capacity and fulfilment of the following conditions:

  1. Payment of Permit Fees
  2. Bank guarantee of at least ₦ 25,000,000 (Twenty-Five) Million Naira Only, not less than 1-year validity.
  3. Evidence of Trademark registration with Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment.
  4. Inspection of your technical and operational facilities including administrative office and data center(s).
  5. Connection to the Commissions monitoring and reporting platform
  6. Website advert materials in hard and soft copy including a picture frame of your trade name/logo (Frame Size 16/12).
  7. Companies with foreign ownership and Directors will be required to provide: a business quota of the applicant’s company; Residence/work permit issued by the Nigerian Immigration Service
  8. Investment certificate from Nigerian Investment Promotions Commission (NIPC)
  9. Execution of Terms & Conditions of operation of Sports Betting.
  10. Copies of duly executed service level agreement with third-party providers
  11. Signed undertaking from all technical providers

Note: A substantive permit will be issued at the expiration of the provisional approval period. Non-fulfilment of the above conditions within the stipulated 90 days will void your application for sports betting Permit.

 

Stage 3: Post-licensing

  1. Permit holders are required to pay 3% Gross on monthly sales turnover to the National Lottery Regulatory Commission(1%) and National Lottery Trust Fund(2%) not later than the 10th day of the succeeding month.
  2. Operators must submit Monthly report in the approved format on or before the 10th day of the succeeding month
  3. The Commission will conduct a system audit on a quarterly basis
  4. The Commission will conduct a quarterly stakeholder’s interactive meeting