The SiGMA Roadshow rolls on, and after previously taking us over the gambling industries in Ukraine, Las Vegas, Manila, and Germany, this time the focus was on the online gambling situation in Nigeria. The gambling industry in Nigeria is expanding at quite the rate, and on the SiGMA roadshow, experts discussed what the future might hold for an industry that is clearly on the rise!
Speakers on the roadshow included Jakub Kolomicenko, the Head of Legal at Endorphina who recently held a Q&A on the new German gambling regulations, Samuel Ukemezie, a sales manager at TVBET, Godwin Solomon of Pragmatic Play, and representatives of other iGaming firms. They discussed the current gambling situation in Nigeria and what the future may hold for a rapidly growing industry. Much of this growth has been put down to the adoption of internet and mobile technology in the country. Close to half the country’s population now actively uses the internet, and that number is steadily increasing each week.
The event started with an opening keynote from Yahaya Maikori, a senior partner at Law Allianz. He explained that online gambling is now growing at levels never seen before. The panel then discussed the need for gambling regulation in Nigeria, claiming that players needed protection. Plus, for the market to continue growing, regulation is needed to help attract leading iGaming operators to the market. Head of Legal at Endorphina, Kolomicenko summed it up best when he said the following:
Maybe the lack of regulations is the reason why the operators are not really into the African market.
Discussions then turned to sports betting, the most popular form of online gambling in Nigeria. While most gamblers do this offline in the country, online betting has been increasing rapidly over the past few years. The panellists believe that this sector will only increase in size, and therefore conversations regarding regulation should start taking place.
What could be next for lotteries and retail casinos was the next topic and once again regulation was mentioned as something that would be required to allow the market to grow. Others pointed out the need for the government to start blocking illegal offshore platforms. The consensus was that regulation would allow platforms to set up in Nigeria, pay tax, and be a big help to the economy. Rather than allowing Nigerian money to leave the country and into the hands of illegal sites.
The SiGMA Roadshow now readies itself for another hot topic. Online gambling in the Nordics & Netherlands is up for debate on the 4th of August. A month later, the South and North Americas get the same treatment. That will bring an end to the first part of the tour, with the second set to discuss the iGaming industries in Romania, New Jersey, Taiwan, and then the Netherlands. Anyone that is interested in taking part in the future discussions, is invited to get in touch with SiGMA by registering an account.
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