THE Nigerian sports betting and gaming industry has grown astronomically in the last few years. This exceptional growth can be attributed to the large population, especially the number of youths, increased access to digital telephones, successful internet penetration, increased access to internet-enabled devices and significant awareness being engendered by National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC).
However, in spite of the huge number of people engaged in betting, government generated less than N1billion revenue from the gaming industry in 2019. Global trends have also shown that the gaming and lottery industry, if well regulated, is a major sector for the generation of revenue by the government.
In 2020, the country’s video game market was worth a total of $104 million, and analysts believe this figure will rise to $126 million in 2021.
For two days, July 28 to 29, stakeholders converged on Lagos to brainstorm on ways to reposition the gaming industry for better performance and revenue enhancement in the 21st century.
At the historic conference, the first of its kind in Nigeria, there was a consensus among participants that this could be achieved through understanding the financial regulatory obligations of the gaming operators, developing regulatory framework for financial transaction in the sector, understanding taxation as well as resolving multiplicity of regulations in the industry.
Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Senator George Akume, said the industry, including international stakeholders, generated in excess of N250 billion in 2019, yet revenues to the government did not exceed N1billion.
The minister noted that the low revenue to the government was unsustainable and unacceptable. In order to block leakages in betting and eliminate discrepancies often observed from the books of some operators, Akume said the Federal Government would soon acquire a Central Monitoring System (CMS) for the gaming industry in Nigeria.
Akume said the acquisition of the CMS would enable the Nigeria Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) and its sister agency, the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF) to perform maximally in their regulatory functions and provision of lottery good causes to Nigeria.
“This will undoubtedly entrench transparency and accountability in the industry, thereby making things a lot easier for all stakeholders,” the minister said.
He commended the commission for organising the conference, adding that the theme was apt and topics slated for discussion were germane to the current situation concerning the gaming industry in the country. He praised the courage and pro-activeness of the leadership of the NLRC.
In his address, Mr Lanre Gbajabiamila, Director-General of NLRC, said that the gaming industry was of vital concern to the government and key to its revenue enhancement.
“The commission has consistently worked on the actualisation of a Central Monitoring System platform to ensure real-time monitoring and promote accountable transparency in the gaming sector,” Gbajabiamila said.
According to the NLRC boss, the commission is already working on the amendment of existing lottery laws to provide a legislative and regulatory framework that best serves the industry. He was optimistic that the National Gaming Bill 2021 would be passed into law before the end of the year.
“It is common knowledge that the industry has evolved and adopted technology to optimise operations so much that extant laws do not reflect the reality or trend of the Nigerian gaming industry,» he said.
Dr Bello Maigari, NLTF Executive Secretary, on his part, admonished licensed lottery operators on prompt remittance to ensure continuity and sustainability of Corporate Social Responsibity (CSR) to the society.
Maigari, who was represented by Mr Abubakar Nakwada, NLTF Head of Operations, said that enhanced and improved lottery remittance would ensure the continuity of good causes for the greater wellbeing of Nigerians.
He said that over the years across the globe, lottery and gaming have been identified as a wealth generator, noting that proceeds from lottery was used to transform societies and Nigeria should not be an exception.
He noted that for Nigeria to maximise the potential of the industry, lottery business owners and entrepreneurs must encourage best practice, collaboration, curtail corruption and acts capable of undermining the growth of the sector.
Maigari said he saw the conference as a constructive engagement that would make Nigeria›s lottery and gaming industry work in a manner that was systemic, coordinated and impactful where everyone had a stake in making it a huge success.
On taxation, the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Alhaji Muhammad Nami, said that the law expects lottery operators to comply with the tax regime by registering for taxes and obtaining tax identification numbers.
Nami, who was represented by Mr Matthew Gbonjubola, Group Lead Strategic Tax Operations, FIRS, said that operators were also expected to keep adequate records of all their transactions.
“Lottery operators are required to file relevant returns, which include income tax, PAYE returns of all employees in the state where they are resident, pay withholding tax from suppliers and very importantly corporate with tax authorities,” he said.
He noted that the conference would give stakeholders in the industry an opportunity to dialogue and resolve some of the challenges faced in the sector
In his contribution, Yahaya Maikori, Founder of Law Allianz, asks Nigerian gaming industry to invest in software as most of the revenue leaving the country from the sector was spent on software.
Also, Mr Adewale Akande, of Bet9naija, said that most lottery operators in Nigeria do not have the technical know-how to develop software for their day-to-day activities.
“The people who are capable of developing the software are outside the country. This is because we don’t develop it locally.
“We need to fund developers in Nigeria so that we can get the software we want internally, instead of importing from other countries,» Akande said.
He said the event was an opportunity for lottery operators to have a direct dialogue with regulators and resolve he issue of multiplicity of regulations in the sector.
Speaking on ethics and responsible gambling, NLRC Director of Legal Services, Mrs Olayemi Ajayi, advised operators in the gaming industry to market and advertise responsibly to avoid portraying the sector in a wrong manner.
- Kehinde Olaosebikan is the CEO of Midas Communications Ltd.
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