{"id":35062,"date":"2026-10-12T22:08:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T01:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/?p=35062"},"modified":"2026-10-13T05:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T08:44:13","slug":"lagos-telecoms-gaming-licence-verification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/lagos-telecoms-gaming-licence-verification","title":{"rendered":"Lagos gives telecoms 30 days to verify gaming operator licences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The LSLGA says NCC approvals do not replace state gaming licences and requires transaction records to assess taxes, levies and arrears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Key takeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority has given telecommunications operators, MNOs and VAS providers 30 days to verify the licences of gaming businesses using their platforms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The regulator will assess unpaid gaming taxes and levies dating back to November 22, 2024.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Telecoms must stop onboarding unlicensed gaming operators and suspend unauthorised services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Directors and principal officers may face liability for certain gaming-related offences involving their consent, connivance or neglect.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nigeria.- The <strong>Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSLGA)<\/strong> has given telecommunications operators, mobile network operators (MNOs) and value-added service (VAS) providers <strong>30 days<\/strong> to verify the licences of gaming businesses using their platforms and submit transaction records to assess outstanding gaming taxes and levies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The regulator issued the directive in a public notice dated October 12, requiring companies facilitating lottery, betting and gaming services through USSD, SMS, short codes, mobile applications and carrier billing to comply with state licensing requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Authority clarified that licences or approvals issued by the <strong>Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)<\/strong> for telecommunications and VAS activities do not authorise companies to conduct or facilitate gaming activities in Lagos State. It cited a November 22, 2024, Supreme Court judgment in Attorney-General of Lagos State &amp; Ors. v. Attorney-General of the Federation &amp; Ors., Suit No. SC\/1\/2008, which affirmed that lottery and games of chance fall within the residual legislative competence of states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the notice, telecommunications operators, VAS aggregators and VAS providers must verify the licensing and gaming-tax compliance status of every gaming operator using their platforms. They must also submit transaction, carrier-billing and revenue-sharing records covering the period from November 22, 2024, to the date of the notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The records will enable the Authority to assess outstanding taxes, statutory levies and other fiscal obligations, including applicable penalties and interest. Affected gaming operators must regularise their licensing status and settle assessed arrears within the 30-day compliance period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The directive also requires telecommunications and VAS companies to stop onboarding gaming operators without valid licences or authorisations issued or recognised by the Authority and suspend existing services that do not meet these requirements. The regulator stressed that using telecommunications infrastructure, carrier-billing platforms, payment channels or other technological intermediaries does not exempt gaming businesses from state licensing requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The notice cited Section 33(3) of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority Law 2021, which prohibits specified activities relating to gaming without a valid licence or authorisation. It also referenced Section 101(5), under which directors, managers, secretaries and other principal officers may be held liable alongside their companies if an offence is committed with their consent or connivance, or is attributable to their neglect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the 30-day compliance period expires, the Authority said it would issue the appropriate statutory notices and pursue available enforcement measures against operators and other entities found to be unlicensed or non-compliant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The regulator also reminded gaming operators to account for and remit all applicable licence fees, gaming taxes and statutory levies, including the <strong>Good Causes Levy<\/strong>, under the state\u2019s gaming law and relevant regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions (FAQs)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>What must telecoms operators do under Lagos\u2019s new gaming directive?<\/strong> They must verify the licensing and gaming-tax compliance status of every gaming operator using their platforms. They must also submit transaction, carrier-billing and revenue-sharing records covering November 22, 2024, to the date of the notice.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Does an NCC licence allow a company to offer gaming services in Lagos?<\/strong> No. The LSLGA said NCC approvals for telecommunications and VAS activities do not authorise companies to conduct or facilitate gaming in Lagos State. It cited a Supreme Court judgment affirming that lotteries and games of chance fall within states\u2019 residual legislative competence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>What happens to unlicensed gaming operators using telecoms platforms?<\/strong> Telecoms and VAS companies must stop onboarding operators without valid Lagos licences or authorisations and suspend existing services that do not meet the requirements. Affected operators must regularise their licensing status and settle assessed arrears within 30 days.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Can company directors be personally liable for gaming compliance breaches?<\/strong> The notice cites Section 101(5) of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority Law 2021. Directors, managers, secretaries and other principal officers may be liable alongside their companies where an offence occurs with their consent or connivance, or is attributable to their neglect.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The LSLGA says NCC approvals do not replace state gaming licences and requires transaction records to assess taxes, levies and arrears.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2395,"featured_media":1666,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSLGA) has mandated telecommunications operators to verify the licensing and tax compliance of gaming businesses on their platforms within 30 days, requiring submission of transaction records dating back to November 22, 2024. This directive clarifies that federal NCC approvals do not supersede state gaming licenses, emphasizing strict regulatory adherence and potential liability for non-compliant entities and their principal officers.","focusai_entities":"Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSLGA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Attorney-General of Lagos State, Attorney-General of the Federation","focusai_location":"Lagos State, Nigeria","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (1.0), affiliate_publisher (0.7), tech_data (0.7), payments_fraud_aml (0.8), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"What are the financial implications?","query":"What is the estimated aggregate financial exposure for gaming operators and telecommunications providers in Lagos State regarding historical tax arrears and potential penalties?"},{"label":"How does this affect B2B?","query":"How will this LSLGA directive impact B2B platform providers and payment processors whose services facilitate unlicensed gaming operations in Lagos State?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60019,60012],"tags":[71,2689],"class_list":["post-35062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulation-news","category-west-africa","tag-gambling","tag-gambling-regulation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35062"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35170,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35062\/revisions\/35170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}