Lagos Gives Telcos, VAS Providers 30 Days to Verify Betting Licences and Submit Transaction Records

The Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSLGA) has given telecommunications operators and value-added service (VAS) providers 30 days to verify gaming licences and submit transaction records for the assessment of unpaid taxes and levies.

The directive is contained in a public notice dated October 12. It covers companies supporting lottery, betting and gaming services through USSD, SMS, short codes, mobile applications and carrier billing.

Who must comply

The notice binds telecommunications operators, mobile network operators, VAS aggregators and service providers whose platforms facilitate gaming activities in Lagos State.

The LSLGA made clear that licences issued by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for telecommunications and VAS operations do not permit a business to offer or facilitate gaming services in Lagos without the required state authorisation.

It also stressed that using telecom infrastructure, payment channels, carrier-billing platforms or other technology intermediaries does not exempt gaming businesses from state licensing rules.

What the operators must do

Affected companies are to verify the licensing status and gaming-tax compliance of every gaming operator using their platforms. They must submit transaction records, carrier-billing details and revenue-sharing information covering November 22, 2024, to October 12, 2026.

According to the regulator, those records will help determine outstanding gaming taxes, statutory levies and other financial obligations, including applicable penalties and interest.

Telecom and VAS companies must also stop onboarding gaming operators without valid licences or recognised authorisations. Existing services linked to non-compliant operators must be suspended.

Gaming businesses with outstanding obligations are to regularise their licences and settle assessed arrears within the 30-day compliance period.

Court judgment and liability

The LSLGA anchored the directive partly on a November 22, 2024, Supreme Court judgment in Attorney-General of Lagos State & Ors. v. Attorney-General of the Federation & Ors., Suit No. SC/1/2008. That judgment affirmed that lotteries and games of chance fall within the residual legislative powers of state governments.

The authority also cited Section 33(3) of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority Law 2021, which prohibits specified gaming activities without a valid licence or authorisation.

Under Section 101(5) of the same law, directors, managers, secretaries and other principal officers may face liability alongside their companies where an offence occurs with their consent or connivance, or results from their neglect.

Operators were reminded to account for and remit all applicable licence fees, gaming taxes and statutory levies, including the Good Causes Levy, in line with Lagos State gaming laws and regulations.

The regulator warned that it will issue the appropriate statutory notices and pursue available enforcement measures against businesses and other entities found operating without the necessary approvals, or failing to meet their obligations after the 30-day deadline.

What it means for the market

The notice puts telecom operators and VAS aggregators on the hook for the licensing status of the betting brands riding on their networks. Any suspension of short codes, USSD channels or carrier billing would cut off payment rails that many Nigerian punters depend on, and could slow collections for operators that have not regularised their Lagos papers.