Nigeria ramps up efforts to fight corruption

The NLRC and the CAC have united to improve standards and better regulate the lottery sector in Nigeria.

Nigeria.- The Nigerian National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) have joined efforts to fight “unscrupulous companies” operating in its gambling industry.

“This collaboration has been long overdue,” Lanre Gbajabiamila, Director General, NLRC said.

“Our mandate is to regulate lottery, sports betting and gaming activities in Nigeria. Our Commission can only do so much on its own because of the way the industry has grown and continues to grow,” he added.

CAC CEO, Abubakar Garba, noted that the regulator had encountered issues in the past with lottery operators acting unlawfully.

“We have had issues in the past with the registration of lottery companies,” Garba said.

“This made us revisit the earlier requirement that approval in principle must be obtained from the NLRC before such registration.

“But we have been mindful of the need to properly regulate these companies. Generally, as an agency, we have dispensed mostly with the approval in principle because of delay in the process.

“Instead of asking for approval in principle, we will create a database for the NLRC. From the comfort of your office, you would be able to verify whether a company is registered with us as a lottery company,” he added.