Lagos’s gaming regulator has warned that operators who let under-18s gamble could face a N100 million fine during Africa Safer Gambling Week.
Bashir Are, the chief executive of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority, disclosed the penalty at a press conference in Lagos. He said enforcement teams were already on the streets across Lagos’s three districts to keep minors away from betting shops and other gambling services.
Are framed the sanction as deliberately severe. In his example, an operator that sold a N100 ticket to an underage customer would be fined N100 million. He also argued that gambling regulation was meant to protect the public and secure compliance, not simply generate revenue for government.
The warning comes as more of the market shifts online. The authority said about 70% of gaming activity is now conducted on the internet, and that it is leaning more heavily on technology and data to spot harmful behaviour and intervene earlier.
According to the regulator, it had carried out a survey about two years ago and concluded that the business was moving online, which meant regulators had to know where players were going and how they were doing it. Are said Know Your Customer systems, together with financial data and the SafePlay self-exclusion platform, could help restrict self-excluded players and underage users from accessing gambling through financial institutions and mobile money wallets.
SafePlay allows users to bar themselves from gambling for periods including three months, six months, one year and five years. Kayode Lawal, who runs the platform, said more than 800 users self-excluded within its first two months, and that the system is designed to follow up on users to understand why they stepped away and whether they need support.
The platform also sends periodic reports to the regulator on self-excluded users, participating operators and compliance levels. LSLGA said it was working with non-governmental organisations and mental health professionals, including the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, to support people affected by gambling-related harm.
The threat landed during the inaugural Africa Safer Gambling Week, a five-day campaign organised by the Africa iGaming Alliance with regulators and industry stakeholders across participating jurisdictions. The wider effort, branded #PlaySafeAfrica, is focused on player protection, safer-gambling tools, underage gambling and public education.
In Lagos, organisers said the message was being carried on buses and trains, with more than 15 buses branded with responsible-gambling material and some train Wi-Fi users asked to watch an educational video on underage gambling and addiction before connecting. The state’s 2021 gaming law already defines remote gaming, treats a vulnerable person as someone too young to gamble legally, and gives the authority power to impose fees and penalties and organise monitoring teams and inspections.
