Nigeria has emerged as one of Africa’s most regulated online gambling markets, even as illegal operators continue to dominate the continent, according to a new report by Gaming Compliance International (GCI).

The report, the first comprehensive assessment of online gambling across all 54 African countries, showed that Africa’s online gambling Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) reached $23 billion in 2025.

However, only $5.2 billion (23 per cent) was generated by licensed operators, while $17.8 billion (77 per cent) remained in the unregulated market.

In West Africa, total online gambling revenue rose to $4.8 billion in 2025 from $4.3 billion in 2024. Of the 2025 figure, regulated operators accounted for $1.5 billion (31 per cent), while $3.3 billion (69 per cent) flowed to unlicensed platforms, highlighting the region’s persistent enforcement challenges.

Nigeria stood out as the region’s strongest performer, recording the lowest unregulated market share at 56 per cent, compared with the West African average of 69 per cent and the African average of 77 per cent.

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The study also found that online gambling participation across Africa increased from 198 million people (13 per cent of the population) in 2024 to 215 million (14 per cent) in 2025.

Despite this growth, GCI estimated that illegal operators deprived African governments of about $3.55 billion in tax revenue in 2025. The number of unlicensed gambling platforms targeting African consumers also rose to 4,129, up from 3,644 in 2024.

Commenting on the findings, Matt Holt, chief executive officer, GCI, said the report provides regulators with the first continent-wide benchmark for strengthening oversight and consumer protection.

Ismail Vali, president, GCI, urged governments to develop competitive and well-regulated markets that encourage consumers to patronise licensed operators, boost public revenue and attract greater investment.

Online gambling in Nigeria is regulated by the Nation Lottery Regulatory Commission.

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has yet to publish its annual financial statements beyond the 2022 financial year, despite legal provisions requiring the apex bank to release its audited accounts annually.

An annual report is a comprehensive report on a company’s activities throughout the preceding year.

Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested people information about the company’s activities and financial performance.

The most recent annual report and financial statements of the CBN available to the public remain those for the 2022 financial year.

Under Section 50 of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, the bank is required to prepare, submit and publish its audited annual financial statements.

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Section 50(1) stipulates that the CBN must transmit its annual accounts, certified by an external auditor, to the President and the National Assembly within two months after the end of each financial year.

Section 50(2) further provides that the annual report submitted to the President and the National Assembly should be published in a manner determined by the CBN Governor, while Section 50(3) mandates the CBN Board to ensure the accounts are published in the Federal Government Gazette as soon as possible.

Despite these statutory requirements, the apex bank has not made public any annual financial statements after the 2022 reporting year.

The development comes after the CBN, on August 11, 2023, released its consolidated financial statements covering seven years the first such publication since 2015.

President Bola Tinubu appointed Olayemi Cardoso as Governor of the CBN on September 15, 2023, following the removal of former Governor Godwin Emefiele in June of the same year.

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Emefiele is currently facing trial over alleged corruption-related offences.

Last week, the Supreme Court ordered the final forfeiture of several of Emefiele’s properties, along with $2.045 million in cash.

ChatPay has launched Africa’s conversational banking platform, enabling individuals and businesses to access financial services through WhatsApp.

The Lagos-based fintech startup, is in controlled rollout, connecting WhatsApp to linked-bank management, airtime and supported electricity payments through simple conversations.

The company said the platform is designed to enable users to send money, pay bills, buy airtime and manage business transactions within WhatsApp conversations, subject to the completion of regulatory approvals and integration with licensed banking partners.

According to ChatPay, the platform is operated by CP Technology Limited and is currently undergoing a phased rollout ahead of its planned public launch.

The company said the initiative is intended to simplify access to financial services by leveraging WhatsApp, which it estimates is used by more than 50 million Nigerians monthly.

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Speaking on the idea behind the platform, Adeoluwasubomi Odebunmi, product lead and co-founder, said the concept emerged while she was studying Software Engineering at Babcock University.

“I saw the gap while I was still in school—how much friction there was just to move money. I didn’t want to just study the problem. I wanted to help fix it,” she said.

Odebunmi said she had previously worked on software solutions spanning e-commerce, real estate management, school administration and artificial intelligence applications before co-founding ChatPay.

Aseoluwa Siyanbola, growth lead and co-founder, said his experience managing Nigerian bank accounts while studying abroad highlighted some of the challenges users face with digital banking services.

According to him, difficulties such as one-time password (OTP) failures and inconsistent banking applications inspired the team to explore conversational banking solutions.

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“We each encountered similar challenges and came together to build a solution that simplifies everyday financial transactions,” he said.

cAbraham William, tech lead and co-founder, said the company is focused on improving access to financial services through a platform that many Nigerians already use daily.

“We want to make financial services easier to access by allowing people to carry out transactions through a familiar messaging platform,” he said.

William said he oversees the company’s engineering, technology strategy and system architecture.

ChatPay said its services will be introduced in phases as regulatory requirements are met and integrations with banking partners are completed.

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The company added that its newly launched “Founding 2,500” programme will enable selected early users to test features, provide feedback and participate in product development before the platform’s wider rollout.

According to the company, interested users can register for the waitlist and the Founding 2,500 programme through its website.

Founded by Odebunmi, Siyanbola and William, ChatPay said its long-term goal is to expand conversational banking services beyond Nigeria into other African markets after its domestic rollout.