For anyone who enjoys gambling in Lagos, changes to the rules surrounding gambling may be on the way. The state is proposing a brand new virtual betting bill, which would be put in place to consolidate all law when it comes to betting in the state.
Should the bill come into force, operators would see themselves charged N20 million, which works out at $51,000 USD. This covers those who offer sports betting, pools and lotteries, so the full range of gambling products.
This bill has been through a public hearing at the State House of Assembly, and will now move forward with a view to being approved and implemented in the future.
One of the interesting points of this proposed new bill is that before a license is granted to an operator, the authorities will need to be happy that the company is a registered company in Nigeria. This could impact online gambling and it will be interesting to see how that affects things and whether companies will open headquarters in Lagos over the coming years.
The real key with this bill is that when this comes into play, it will consolidate all of the current laws in the gaming sector. This means laws like the Lagos State Lotteries Law of 2008, the same law from 2004 and then many others that have been created in the past regarding casino gaming, pool betting and more will all be replaced by this new law when it comes in.
This is clearly a really huge move, and one that has the potential to really shape the future of gambling in Nigeria. At the Assembly, it was mentioned by both the speaker and deputy speaker that legislation like this coming into place was exactly the type of moves that helped form the foundations of democracy in the country.
The legislation needs to be in touch with what people want. It needs to understand what people want and work with what is in the common interest. There are a total of 109 sections within the new bill and they cover three main regulations. The consequences of this are what people are looking for and what the area wants.
One particular area of this is to address cybersecurity and what local technology can be used to help with that, a concern that many people have held when gambling in Lagos. It should be noted that this all comes at a cost, which will effectively be passed onto the operators in the area.
They will have to pay a license fee to offer virtual betting, and this can only begin once the company has a license to provide sports betting.
Whatever happens, and especially the speed of how it happens, is going to be fascinating to watch. Gambling in Lagos is popular, it is in the interest of people to get things right, so look out for this bill to eventually pass and change the way that Lagos gambling works and is funded for the foreseeable future.
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