Gambling in Nigeria

Gambling in Nigeria is not well regulated. Despite the fact there is the gambling law at place many illegal casinos operate in the country. The legal land based casinos are located in two largest cities. The biggest casino is in Lagos, The Federal Palace Hotel. Nigeria law focus on the activities to reduce Money laundering and illegal gambling.

Gambling law

Gambling in Nigeria is regulated by National Lottery Regulatory Commission. The lottery was legalized with National Lottery Act, 2005 and the gambling is defined by Chapter 22 of the Criminal Code Act enacted in 1990.^[1] The law splits the games into two categories. The legal and illegal games. The legal games are Lottery, land-based casino, sports betting. The games roulette, dice games, and non-skilled card games are illegal. The law regulates the slot machines activity and only licensed operators can provide slot machines gaming.^[2] Money laundering activity is covered by the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.^[3]

Online gambling

Nigerian law do not mention online space and there is not any restriction for the people to reach local or foreign gambling sites. Despite the fact internet space is not mentioned exactly in the law. The companies are obliged to follow the regulations and laws as it is for the land based casinos. All types of online games are available except those who are illegal.

Gambling age

Gambling age is defined by the law. People below the age of 18 cannot gamble.

Payment gateways

There is not any obstacle when depositing money to the foreign or local bookies. Users deposit money using the bank cards or ewallets such as Skrill or Neteller. There is not any legal restriction or service blocking.

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