The house of representatives has asked the National Lottery
Regulatory Commission (NLRC) to include national identity number (NIN) as a
requirement for all gaming operators in Nigeria.
The green chamber said this will enable authorities to verify
and identify customers of gambling platforms.
When the lower parliament’s request is implemented, this
implies that Bet9ja, BetKing, SportyBet, NairaBet and other gaming platforms in
the country will require NIN from gamers before staking.
The green chamber passed the resolution during the plenary
session on Thursday following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Ibrahim
Isiaka, a lawmaker from Ogun state.
While moving his motion, Isiaka said integrating NIN as a
requirement for betting will protect the customers and operators in the sector.
“The global gaming market is undoubtedly a huge one
estimated to generate between $400 to $500 billion yearly and with the
consistency of the current trends, by 2022, it is set to be worth around $565
billion with increasing amounts of revenues coming from online gaming in its
many forms,” he said.
“When such large amounts of money are exchanged and
transacted quickly through relatively anonymous interactions, there is a
significant risk that criminals will be tempted to use the situation for money
laundering;
“With age-restricted businesses like casinos and online
gaming platforms, the critical barrier to entry for customers is age and
identity verification, therefore there is an increased need for such
verifications in virtual situations in order to secure both the customers and
the operators.
“One of the basic purposes of the national identity Number
is for identification, as it not only serves to identify the individual holder but
also curbs duplication of identities.
“It is imperative for regulators to place a premium on data
security of gamers and gaming operators and one readily available way to
achieve this is to integrate the National identity Numbers (NIN) into the data
collection of both new and existing customers.”
The motion was unanimously adopted when it was put to voice
vote by Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house.
Subsequently, the house mandated the committee on
governmental affairs to ensure compliance.
Akin Alabi, the lawmaker representing Egbeda/Ona Ara federal
constituency, is the chairman of the committee on governmental affairs and the
founder of NairaBet.
It is not clear if he will recuse himself from the
committee’s legislative duty to avoid a conflict of interest.
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