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Nigeria’s House of Representatives on Monday threatened to recommend revocation of licences of lottery operators over a loss of N1.493 trillion in revenue to government.
Bello Maigari, Acting Executive Secretary of the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF) who spoke during an investigative public hearing held at the instance of the House Committee on Inter-Governmental Affairs, disclosed that a meagre sum of N7 billion was realised by the Fund over the past 13 years.
Maigari, cited lack of effective regulation in the industry as a major factor hindering improved revenue drive.
“The Nigerian lottery market according to industry experts is the most attractive market in the whole of Africa.
“The industry is worth over N1.5 trillion as we speak. Lottery and gaming businesses have continued to flourish without proper regulation.”
While noting that lotteries have significantly contributed to the gross domestic product of many countries across the continent, Maigari added that between 7.5 million and 22 million Nigerians engage in lottery and sport betting daily.
“Records at our disposal indicates that cumulative returns of about five years stood at about N7.2 billion and this is unacceptable in a nation with so much potential like Nigeria,” he said.
“We’ve lost N1.43 trillion to defaulting lottery operators that refused to pay their remittances since the inception of the Lottery gaming system.
According to him, “operators are expected to remit 20 percent of their earnings in the first five years and subsequent five years but thereafter they are expected to pay 27 percent.
“But for 13 years now, the operators have failed to adhere to relevant laws governing lottery operations in Nigeria,” he noted.
In his remarks, Lanre Gbajabiamila, director-general of National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) admitted that the Commission has a lot of work to do in bringing the sector to an acceptable international pedestal.
Gbajabiamila said an immediate overhaul the obsolete legislative framework on lotteries in Nigeria would be necessary to achieve the feat.
According to him, President Buhari approved a total number of 21 operators recommended by the Commission.
“A lot has been said from the speeches of the chairman and Mr. Speaker, which I concur with and we still have lots of work to do, as our laws are outdated and need to be re-jigged.
“We need this House, especially the committee, to help us in updating the lottery and gaming laws, they are outdated and a lot of things are going on out there that need to be tapped into, using enabling legislations.
“However, as regulators, we are putting some checks and balances in place, as the way the industry was run before wasn’t proper,” Gbajabiamila stressed.
In his keynote address, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, rated the lottery sector high after Oil and Gas, Customs and Excise, as well as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in terms of revenue generation.
“I want to place on record that after oil and gas, Customs and Excise and the FIRS, lottery and gaming falls within the class of high income generating activities for the economy,” Dogara said.
Some of the challenges facing the sector include: conflict of interest, sharp practices, sabotage, thus giving dubious businessmen and agents the latitude to undermine government’s interest.
In swift response to the NLTF helmsman’s presentation, some of the lawmakers chided the regulatory agency for failing to ensure compliance by operators in the area of remittances accrued to government.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
