LAGOS STATE LOTTERIES BOARD WINS SPORTS BETTING WEST AFRICA AWARD

Lagos State Lotteries Board (LSLB), has won the Sports Betting West Africa (SBWA) Award of Loyalty at the three-day, SBWA summit held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Receiving the award, the Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Lotteries Board (LSLB), Mr. Seun Anibaba, applauded the organisation for deeming it fit to recognise the Board for its activities and support towards the SBWA annual summit.

He said the Lagos State Government, through the LSLB, will do everything in its power to sanitise the industry by initiating policies to curb illegalities, eradicate underage gaming and empower regulators to ensure that operators abide by operational guidelines and standards in the industry.

Anibaba emphasised that “Communication is very essential in the sector as there may arise developments in the industry that require clarification and education of the operators in order for them to know what it means as well as what it takes to stay within the law and promote right gaming”.

The CEO reminded the audience that the Lagos State Lotteries Board was established by the Lagos State Lotteries Law 2004 (as amended) as the sole authority to regulate gaming activities in Lagos State such as Public Online Lottery, Online Sports Betting, Scratch Card & Interactive Games, Casino, Gaming Machine, Pools Betting operations, Other Games, etc.

“LSLB’s essential function includes the regulation of all gaming activities in the State; protection of stakeholders and the public through open-door policies that comprise of access to information, timely dispute resolution; promoting and ensuring conducive business environment for stakeholders and embarking on good causes projects to improve the standard of living of residents of Lagos State”, he added.

Anibaba, therefore, enjoined all operators to cooperate with the LSLB to achieve the desired growth in the gaming industry.

Earlier in his keynote address, the Director-General, National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila, revealed that sports-betting is the fastest growing sector in the gaming industry and is a source of income for many households, having experienced swift growth in the last decade.

Gbajabiamila, however, decried the global threats affecting the industry like underage gaming, addictive behaviours, and money laundering which have been associated with sports betting.

He said these harmful practices were slowly creeping into the Nigerian gaming industry and called upon regulators and operators to deliberate on solutions to curb these abuses which could expand the existing bias against the industry.

Nigeria Sports Betting Summit 2019 was attended by dignitaries in gaming industries across the World.