Forcing Regulation? New Legislation in Nigeria to Govern Lotteries is the First Step
Published January 26, 2020 by Lee R
New hope for another regulation model in Africa emerges with new lottery criteria in Nigeria.
After multiple failures of operators to pay out winnings, the Nigeria authority is cracking down on lotteries.
New Ban
The new ban comes in the form of Nigeria National Lottery Regulatory Commission's prohibition against the operation, promotion and sale of tickets of all unapproved foreign lottery games after operators have repeatedly failed to pay out player winnings.
With non-payments on the rise the Commission cited six features of games qualifying them for the ban.
New Lottery Criteria
The criteria for the bans include lottery games foreign to Nigeria; lottery draws not conducted in Nigeria; draws whose schedules are “varied and inconsistent;” draws “not conducted in a transparent and credible manner;” draws which are not publicly transparent; nor draws not approved by the government.
Commission Speaks
The Commission commented on its new approach, saying:
“The fundamental criteria for the business of lottery are the transparency and credibility of the draw process. Where they are absent, the games are compromised and provide opportunities for fraud, “ concluding that such breaches of trust are “detrimental to the playing public and the reputation of the lottery business.”
More New Mandates
More new requirements for legal lotteries in Nigeria include the mandates that lottery operators must conduct all draws in-house and conduct public viewings of the draws.
Modernising Regulation
The new guidelines revamp and update the original governing law of the 2005 Nigeria National Lottery Act, which formerly allowed foreign lotteries to be available to Nigerian players in Nigeria. The foreign operators facing Nigeria were only be permitted upon Presidential authorisation of the availability of the lottery in Nigeria. Apparently, the lack of further guidelines for lottery provision in the Nigeria jurisdiction has led to the breakdown in safe offerings.
Outlook
In a country where online play remain illegal, a uniform and updated approach to regulation of lottery would appear to offer some precedent for wider applications of iGaming regulation.
