Delta Assembly holds public hearing on Gaming Board Bill 2025
The legislation seeks to establish a single Delta State Gaming Board to oversee lotteries, sports betting, gaming and related activities.
Nigeria.- The Delta State House of Assembly Committee on Trade and Investment held a public hearing on Tuesday, February 24, at the press centre in the assembly complex to gather feedback on the Delta State Gaming Board Bill, 2025 (HB. 35).
Addressing participants, Chairman Collins Ovie Egbetamah, along with Committee Members James Augoye, Frank Esenwah and Bino Obowomano said all oral and written inputs would be carefully reviewed to strengthen the bill.
The legislation seeks to establish a single Delta State Gaming Board to oversee lotteries, sports betting, gaming and related activities. It would repeal older laws, including the Delta State Lotteries Board Law of 1976, the Delta State Lotteries Law of 1976, the Delta Lotteries Law of 1990, the Delta State Pools Betting (Control and Taxation) Law of 1996 and the Delta State Betting Duty Law of 1954.
Lawmakers referred the Bill to the Committee on September 30, 2025. The public hearing was initially scheduled for November 11 but was later moved to February. At Tuesday’s hearing, stakeholders from the Ministries of Justice, Trade and Investment, Economic Planning, the Delta State Board of Internal Revenue Service, the Delta State Signage and Advertisement Agency and the Delta State Investment Development Agency presented their positions.
Sonny Ekedayen, Commissioner for Economic Planning, said the new law would help increase state revenue and create job opportunities for young people once passed. Prof. Frank Nwugo, Executive Director of the Delta State Internal Revenue Service, offered a different perspective, warning that the proposed Board could lead to revenue leakages and stressing that his service remains the only body legally empowered to collect revenue for the state.
Hon. Egbetamah noted that contributions from participants would help create a clear, transparent and fair set of rules for gaming in Delta State. He added that stakeholder input forms an essential part of the legislative process.
The Bill comes at a time when many Nigerian states are reviewing gaming regulations to keep pace with developments in sports betting and lotteries. Delta currently relies on its Internal Revenue Service to license pool betting and lottery operations under the 2020 Internal Revenue Law, while certain registrations are handled by the Ministry of Trade and Investment.
Supporters of the Bill, including officials from Economic Planning, view the new Board as a way to centralise all gaming matters under a modern authority. They believe this would improve oversight, clarify tax collection and create jobs in areas such as operations, technology and customer service for young residents.
However, critics, led by the Internal Revenue Service, caution that splitting responsibilities could reduce the revenue reaching state accounts. They argue that existing revenue structures should remain in place to prevent gaps.
