Month: January 2023

Nigeria is set to introduce a new remote operator permit for offshore-licensed operators, allowing businesses to offer online gambling in Nigeria without a local presence. Businesses will be eligible for a remote operator permit if they already hold a licence in another jurisdiction and wish to offer their services to Nigerian players.It will allow operators to offer casino games, bingo, slots, sports betting and poker.

While this looks great for the non-domiciled operators will the locally licensed operators find this new permit fair to their businesses?

Are the stipulated fees for acquisition of this permit realistic or rather wayward?

See below key highlights while we shall plan to setup an online panel to hear thoughts of different top level gaming Professional’s views on this new move – Panelists will include our Co-founder Stephen Crystal among other top names in the industry we shall share soon!

Key Highlights

The permit will be valid for five years. Operators will pay an initial $100,000 to receive the permit, followed by fees of $50,000 in each of the next four years. The Nigerian National Lottery Regulatory Commission will issue terms and conditions which permit-holders must adhere to.

Holders of the new permit will be allowed to offer their services in Nigeria and to advertise within the country in print media or via affiliate programmes.

Key to the new regime will be an updated tax collection system, powered by UK-based fintech company E-Technologies Global Limited’s Sentinal product. This will allow payment providers to deduct taxes at the point of transaction and remit funds immediately to the Treasury.

Mohammad Nami, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria, said the new system was an important way to boost tax revenues at a time when this was a major priority for governments everywhere.

“The world is entering a challenging time where there is a strong obligation on governments to increase tax revenue as a percentage of GDP so as to provide much needed funding for local infrastructure and public services.

“Nigeria needs to innovate and harness technology to ensure that online transactions are taxed and accounted for.

“We have been very impressed with the Sentinal system which allows us to not only collect tax revenues at source, but also provides us with tax reporting and monitoring tools in real-time. The system will integrate with our own TaxPro Max portal.”

Lanre Gbajabiamila, director general of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission of Nigeria, said that the country would welcome any offshore operators that pass its screening process.

“Online gaming continues to grow rapidly in Nigeria, particularly on mobile, and the adoption of E-Technologies’ Sentinal National Payment Gateway is a huge step to allow us to capture gaming duty at source,” he said.

“We are welcoming all responsible offshore gaming operators to apply for a remote operator permit as long as they pass all the relevant criteria including full AML screening and responsible gaming practices.

“We are proud to be the first country to adopt the Sentinal system and we believe it will bring a real national benefit to Nigeria.”

E-Technologies’ CEO, David Kicks, said the deal was a major step in the increased expansion of the regulated sector at the expense of grey markets.

“This landmark deal will herald a new era in rapidly opening new regulated markets for responsible gaming operators, as grey market operating becomes increasingly problematic,” he said.

By Najib Balinda, sourced from the Nigerian National Lottery Regulatory Commission.

In Zimbabwe, gambling has conventionally always been frowned upon as a social vice and vanity. Where it occurred, it was limited to the state lottery, horse betting and an odd casino.

Now, the tide has shifted. Sports betting shops, casinos and lottery gaming are cropping up rapidly in the country’s major urban centres as punters strive to make an extra coin and satisfy a growing appetite for gaming and gambling. Activity usually peaks when the football leagues around the world start.

Driven by rising poverty and unemployment levels currently estimated at 5.4% by the International Labour Organisation, many ordinary citizens, especially the youth because of being un-employed are increasingly turning to gambling.

Zimbabwe’s economy is in a fragile state with an unsustainably high external debt of around US$9.9 billion. This has led to a massive death of industries and high levels of self employment, capped in part by chronic liquidity challenges, structural bottlenecks that include power shortages, an infrastructure deficit and a constrained fiscal space.

“The industry has evolved with the advent of various players coming on board and offering diverse products, not necessarily related to thoroughbred horse racing. Products such as sports betting have begun trending. Other establishments have also introduced lotteries, scratch cards and limited pay-out machines outside the confines of traditional casino settings,”

Most of Zimbabwe’s major towns now have gambling businesses, with the capital Harare being the main hub. Most resort hotels also have casinos which are popular with tourists. The Lotteries and Gambling Board is the country’s regulatory body responsible for controlling and monitoring operations of the gambling industry through the Lotteries and Gaming Act which came into operation in 2000. The board also issues licenses to gaming operators.

Social commentators say gambling has its good and bad side. Edmos Mtetwa, a lecturer at the School of Social Work in Harare, sees the increasing rate of gambling as a social disease, motivated by economic reasons.

“Gambling became more rampant during the difficult years that preceded the introduction of the multiple currency system in Zimbabwe in 2009. It has now become a source or an additional source of livelihood for many,” he says.

Mr. Mtetwa, however, does not think gambling will provide solutions to socio-economic problems. “It will not alleviate poverty but instead swindle punters of hard-earned cash in addition to breeding a generation of young people who do not know right from wrong.”

Labour economist Godfrey Kanyenze says gambling has always been practised in the country but has grown in the recent past due to economic desperation and people trying to leverage for some income.

“People are under pressure from a non-performing economy so they are looking for quick wins because ordinary mechanisms for acquiring assets are limited,” noted Mr. Kanyenze, adding that the scale of gambling would lessen if the economy improved.

But Mr. Mhembere argues that socially, gambling is a form of recreation that can be lucrative to punters. “Social demand for gambling has improved with the advent of sports betting as the youth can now infuse their sporting interests with gaming interests. Economically, big bets laid on big events have the propensity to generate huge incomes for the entities involved,” he says.

With a combined population of over a billion people, many of whom are poor, gambling is becoming a popular activity in Africa. Legal casinos are known to operate in many countries among them Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana,Uganda, Liberia, Nigeria, Gambia, Gabon, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Botswana. But while the gambling industry in Zimbabwe is experiencing phenomenal growth, it contrasts with developments elsewhere in Africa where the industry is reportedly moderating.

Conclusion

Zimbabwe is ready for business