By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has signed a revised Memorandum of Understanding with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), with provisions to deter unapproved lottery and gaming practices on telecommunications platforms through information and intelligence sharing.
Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Mr Umar Danbatta, said this would impact Nigeria’s gaming industry in sync with the commission’s Strategic Vision Plan (SVP).
He further stated that the deal was to promote fair practices in the industry for the protection of telecommunications consumers in relation to lottery and gaming activities.
Mr Danbatta said the collaboration was in line with the provisions of the agency’s SVP 2021-2025, which provides for the facilitation of strategic partnership and collaboration with other bodies to enhance service delivery.
“The initial MoU expired in 2022; amendments and modifications have been made since no MoU is cast in stone, especially given the industry’s dynamic nature,” he stated.
The Director-General of NLRC, Mr Lanre Gbajabiamila, expressed confidence that the MoU will yield favourable outcomes in curbing illegal online gambling as he shared his hope that NCC and NLRC will achieve their intentions in the interest of gaming stakeholders.
He noted how unapproved lottery and gaming activities and practices undermine the integrity of domestic and global gaming markets to the detriment of stakeholders in addition to undermining consumer confidence in these markets, hence the collaboration with the Commission to arrest such tendencies.
In his view, the Executive Commissioner (Stakeholder Management), Mr Adeleke Adewolu, disclosed that the MoU was designed to address recent technology information-sharing capabilities and consumer satisfaction and to enhance areas of co-regulation in line with the Federal Government’s digital economy mandate.
The new MoU provides complementary approaches to deter unapproved lottery/gaming practices on telecommunications platforms through information and intelligence sharing in recognition of how unapproved lottery and gaming activities and practices undermine the integrity of domestic and global gaming markets to the detriment of stakeholders in addition to undermining consumer confidence in these markets.
Under the agreement, following requests from NLRC, NCC will endeavour to block or disable illegal lottery gaming operators on the telecommunications service providers’ platforms in Nigeria and NLRC.
The document was developed by a Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) comprising representatives of NCC and NLRC to implement the MoU and other matters that promote collaboration between both organizations in their regulatory functions.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Dipo Olowookere