Gaming advocate calls for stronger player protections in Nigerian gaming industry
Operators spend heavily on ads featuring celebrities, while small-print warnings go unnoticed.
Nigeria.- Charles Akhenamen, a gaming policy advocate, has called on Nigerian regulators and betting operators to replace weak responsible gambling measures with real protections. Akhenamen said the common “18+ Only. Bet Responsibly” message does little to stop harm. He wrote: “These warnings are a compliance checkbox, not a commitment. The consequences are devastating.”
He pointed to two deaths in 2025 linked to betting losses: Stephen Chidubem, a young man in Abuja, who took his life in July after running up debt, and a student in Ogun State who died by suicide earlier in the year after gambling away the tuition money for himself and a friend.
Nigeria has more than 65 million people who bet each day, according to industry estimates. Mobile apps and high unemployment drive the activity. Operators spend heavily on ads featuring celebrities, while small-print warnings go unnoticed. Akhenamen wants operators to use their data tools for safety, not just profit. He noted: “They use analytics to send bonuses; the same tech can spot risky play and step in.”
He listed four measures operators can adopt to mitigate problem gambling, including checking if players can afford large bets, watching for sudden loss spikes, forcing breaks after heavy play and sharing data on problem gambling.
Akhenamen recognised the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSLGA) for its proactive approach to protecting players. In August 2025, the authority launched SafePlay, a tool that lets users block themselves from all licensed sites in Lagos with a single action.
However, Akhenamen said change must go beyond Lagos, emphasising the need for a unified national approach to protect players across Nigeria. Without stronger rules, he warned, more families will face loss.
