There are only two gambling legalized and regulated in Nigeria; they are casinos and the national lottery.
But despite these strict gambling laws, hundreds of illegal online lotteries, betting and gambling schemes operate freely in the country. They also range from slot machines to underground casinos and to football betting.
Operators of these schemes are exploiting the lax regulation and the absence of strong consumer advocacy groups.
Online lotteries, betting and gambling starts innocently; at first, it seems like harmless fun while in fact it is very dangerous to individual and indeed the country.
The individual loses money, family and family while unknowingly helping dangerous criminals or terrorists move money used in waging war against countries.
For now Nigeria’s ill-equipped security agencies have no ways to shut them down because the schemes are increasingly flexible and confusing.
Most Nigerians who wager (bet) on the exchanges are not protected and cannot lay any claims in case of default in payment.
The federal government is also losing revenue due it because of the unregulated nature of the business.
As it stands, Lottery Regulatory Commission is only concerned with the regulation of the operation and business of the national lottery of Nigeria.
The power to regulate the trade is also neither with the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) nor the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).
Because nobody is in charge, there are nearly 2,100 retail lottery terminals currently available in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Aba, Benin City, Enugu, Ibadan and Onitsha and other major cities.
They come in different names but with drawings every week.
Criminal gangs under the guise of online betting, a wager would purposely lose to the other party in a bid to pay out money that is then cleaned through this process especially in person-to-person wagering.
Online betting and gambling are open to abuse but operators can only be charged for economic crimes if they are suspected to be a conduit for money laundering.
But being able to trace money laundered through online gambling is an uphill task for the ill-equipped financial crime law enforcement agencies.
And if this not checked, grave dangers’ awaits Nigerians and indeed the country.
The only way forward is make all kind of betting or gambling to fall under the ambit of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.
It requires the simple amendment of the laws setting up the Lottery Regulatory Commission.
Experienced management who can keep pace with development in the information technology space should be hired for the Lottery Regulatory Commission given the growing sophistication of the trade.