Unauthorised gaming operators in Lagos state have received a severe warning from the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSLGA), which has pledged to take swift legal action against offenders.
LSLGA revealed in a press statement that many betting sites have been operating in the state without yet obtaining approval from the regulatory body.
The betting sites implicated are:
“22BET, AFRIBET, BANGBET, BESTBET360, BETFARM, BETIKA, BETWAZOBIA, BETXPERIENCE, BLACKBELT/BETTYBINGO, CHOPBARH, CLOUDBET, ELLIEST LOTTO, FIRSTBET, GAMESPAY, GIVERAFFLE, GOBET, HALLABET, HAMABET
KONFAMBET, KORETBET, LIVESCOREBET, LOTTOMANIA, MEGABET, MILLIONAIREPOWERPLAY, MSPORT, N1BET, NAIJABET, NAIRAMILLION, NAIRAPOWERBET, NETBET, NGAWIN, ODDSPEDIA, PARIPESA, PEELSLOTTO, PLENTYMILLIONS, RIDERLOTTO, SCRATCH2WIN, SETLOTTO, SPORTBET.IO, WAKABET, WESTERN LOTTO, XTRAGOALSFANTASY, ZEBET”.
The press statement from the LSLGA says:
“The attention of LSLGA has been drawn to the activities of some organisations conducting gaming operations in Lagos State without obtaining prerequisite licenses from LSLGA and thereby in contravention of Section 33(3) of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority Law 2021 which provides that ‘a person without a subsisting license or authorisation from the Authority shall not conduct or operate any gaming activity in the State”
The LSLGA further sheds much light on why gaming sites must adhere to the regulations governing the sector to establish openness and equity.
“Kindly be informed that the Lagos State Government derives powers to regulate Lottery and Gaming from the Constitution of the Federal 1999 (as amended) as activities are not included in the Exclusive Legislative List nor the Concurrent Legislative List of the Constitution. It is an item on the Residual List exclusive to Nigeria’s Jurisdiction of the Federating States. This position has been established and elucidated by several judicial decisions”.
To the public, the LSLGA also beckoned to keep a watchful eye for suspicious betting sites and to desist from staking on them for safety purposes:
“The public is hereby advised to desist and/or discontinue from staking/betting on platforms of the listed organisations/having operators as they are deemed illegal and unknown to LSLGA. Their gaming activities are against the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and contravenes the provisions of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority Law 2021(as amended)”.
Besides, unauthorised gaming operations hinder licensed gaming sites from offering punters a secure and fair gaming ecosystem.
The LSLGA, therefore, assured the public of its relentless effort to curb the activities of these unlicensed gaming sites by bringing offenders to justice.