Lagos Assembly proposes licence fee for lottery, betting operators

Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, proposes that lottery players and betting operators should be given a N20m licence fee.

He made this known at a public hearing on the bill in Lagos on Friday, August 14, 2020.

The bill was entitled; “Lagos State Lotteries And Gaming Authority Bill Arrangement of Sections”.

Obasa, represented by the Deputy Speaker, Wasiu Sanni-Eshinlokun, explained that the new bill, when it becomes law, would consolidate all the laws in the sector.

“The new bill will also repeal existing laws such as the Lagos State Lotteries (Amendment) Law 2008, the Lagos State Lotteries Law (2004), and the Casino and Gaming Regulatory Authority Law (2007).

“Others are Casino and Gaming Regulations (2007), Pools Betting Control Law (2003) and Pools Betting Tax Law (2003).

“In addition, before a license is granted to an operator, the authority shall be satisfied that the applicant is a registered company in Nigeria with a minimum share capital of N20 million or as may be directed by the authority.

“The bill also specified that the local content shareholder shall abide by the regulations, policies, terms and conditions issued by the authority,” he said.

Obasa added that a sound legislature must be the aggregate of the common interest of the majority, and that it must perceive the interest of the people and aggregate it.

The speaker said to achieve the essence of democracy, the legislature must be in tune with the people.

He said this underscores the essence of public hearing as the worldwide gaming was worth $200 billion, saying several Nigerians are now involved in games and sports bettings.

Obasa said the addictive nature calls for caution, hence the need for an amendment of the 2008 lottery law as the bulk of the game were done on mobile gadgets.

The state Commissioner for Finance, Dr Rabiu Olowo, said that a lot had changed in the Nigerian gaming sector in the last 10 years and most of the people involved were youths.

“The future of gaming in Nigeria is bright. The regulations are very robust. So the bill addresses cyber security and addresses the concerns of many people. I want to urge all stakeholders to take it serious,” he said.

The Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Mr Rotimi Olowo, said in an interview that he was moved by the response of the stakeholders and the operators that attended the hearing.

Olowo, representing Shomolu Constituency I, added that the bill was meant to consolidate, gaming and virtual lottery in the state.

“We have different licences for individual products in the sector. The people have ventilated their opinions and we will work on them.

“The law is not meant for the operators alone, it is also meant for the regulators, we will look into all the areas.

“They are talking about service charge of three per cent, and they say it is small, but the sector is huge. We are not talking about digging into their data, but they should give us correct data,” he said.

The lawmaker said that the bill would help the state to gather enough money that would be used in the health sector, environment and even the sports sector.