Operators in Lagos State will be required to possess a minimum share capital of N20 million before getting issued a licensing certificate 

Lagos State House of Assembly is proposing an executive bill of N200 million as a licence fee that covers a five-year period for lottery operators. 

Rotimi Olowo, the House advisory group administrator on funds, revealed to PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday that the bill has recently passed second perusing and is currently being discussed by a board of trustees.

The fee is expected to cover a five-year period and is aimed at stopping fraudsters from entering the lottery business.

He said despite the fact that the expense is to guarantee that fraudsters don’t get into the business, there are still protests from the administrators. 

The Lagos State Lotteries Board is the organization liable for directing lotteries, sports wagering, scratch cards and intelligent games, club, gaming machines tasks, pools wagering, limited time rivalries and other gaming exercises in Lagos.  

 

As indicated on the organization’s site, one of the prerequisites for online wagering is that the candidate must have a base offer capital of N20 million for every one of the classifications.  

Mr Olowo said another bill would unite all the current gaming laws in the state, for example, the Lagos State Lotteries (Amendment) Law 2008, Casino and Gaming Regulatory Authority Law (2007), Casino and Gaming Regulations (2007), Pools Betting Control Law (2003), and Pools Betting Tax Law (2003) among others. 

 

“What we are trying to do, for ease of reference, is to consolidate all the laws into one. And that’s why it’s that voluminous. It’s 109 sections,” – he added. 

 

The new bill likewise suggested that a candidate must have a nearby substance investor with at least 15% shareholding in the organization. 

Mr Olowo said he restricts the contention that worldwide financial specialists won’t be ‘excessively agreeable’ when there is neighborhood substance of 15% Nigerians. 

“If you go to Dubai today, you cannot do any business if it’s not supported by [a] local, and that will allow a lot of Nigerians to have something doing. We cannot give everything to foreign investors without considering the interest and welfare of Nigerians.” He concluded. 

According to Adeleye Awakan of E-Play Africa, Lagos State is the commercial capital of Nigeria where all essential gambling-related activities occur in the country with Lagos Gaming Board, being the most advanced,  boasting over 20 million inhabitants valued at $130 billion in GDP. 

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