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Is the Issuance of Remote Licences Good for the Nigerian Gambling Industry?

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Gambling regulators in Nigeria recently announced that they would start issuing remote licences to offshore operators that wish to offer their services to Nigerian players.

Is the Issuance of Remote Licences Good for the Nigerian Gambling Industry?

This would allow such companies to legally do business in Nigeria without having a physical presence in the country.

Apart from being permitted to legally provide gambling services to Nigerians, these companies would also be able to advertise their products in the print media and via affiliate marketing platforms if they own this remote licence permit.

“We are welcoming all responsible offshore gaming operators to apply for a remote operator permit as long as they pass all the relevant criteria including full AML screening and responsible gaming practices”, said Lanre Gbajabiamila, Director-General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission.

Based on this new system, any gambling operator that wants the remote permit would have to pay an initial fee of USD 100,000, followed by a sum of USD 50,000 in each of the next four years.

Remote operators would also be mandated to pay tax to the government, via the Sentinel system provided by UK-based company, E-Technologies Global Limited. The Sentinel system allows payment providers to deduct tax at the point of transaction and immediately pass on the money to the national treasury.

All of these look great on first viewing, but is it really the best way to go?

To be fair, the fact that Nigeria is thinking about extracting more revenue from offshore operators is a positive thing.

Because of Nigeria’s vague laws on sports betting, especially online betting, offshore operators have been freely rendering their services to Nigerian customers over the internet without having to pay any form of tax or invest any of their revenue into the country.

They have basically been syphoning money away from Nigeria, further weakening our already dire economy. The remote gambling licence will go a long way in addressing this.

However, not everyone is on board with this new system.

Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Lottery and Gaming Authority, Bashir Abiola Are, has not been impressed with the idea.

The Lagos State Gaming chief insists that the federal body does not have the constitutional right to issue betting licences without the consent of the state bodies.

“The state gaming regulators are also against it because we believe it is under our purview constitutionally and you cannot issue remote gaming licences to foreign operators without our consent”, he said.

“Even if you have to do it, you do it on our behalf. We have to give you permission to do it”.

This has further brought to light the on-going feud between the federal regulator- the National Lottery Regulatory Commission- and the state bodies.

Until both parties somehow reach a compromise, there will always be proposals and counter-proposals from both ends without any meaningful resolutions.

Perhaps, Nigeria would be better off emulating the Kenyan system, which has a uniform regulatory body for sports betting all through the country.

While Nigerian bookies may have multiple licences from the federal and state authorities, betting sites in Kenya are all registered with the supreme body- Betting Control and Licensing Board.

Also, Are believes that issuing licences without mandating the operators to have physical presence in the country would be detrimental to the development of the Nigerian gambling industry; and to the country as a whole.

“You are telling them they don’t have to invest locally; that they can just pay some peanuts and make huge amounts of money. There will be capital flight, but no development”, Are said.

“All these companies that you want to grant offshore licences to are not based in Nigeria. What we need is a lot of local content so that we can grow the sector within and we can export. Our people are capable when you give them the platform”, he continued.

Are does make a great point here. By having a physical presence in Nigeria, gambling operators would not just boost the development of the industry in the country, they would also offer other economic benefits such as creating more job opportunities for Nigerian youths.

While the remote licensing system has its positives, it is perhaps better for Nigeria if these international companies are also compelled to have offices and shops in Nigeria before being allowed to legally operate in the country.


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E-Business

Galaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone

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Galaxy Backbone (GBB) aligns with and celebrates the successful announcement by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on the achievement of a Paperless Civil Service, a significant milestone in Nigeria’s public sector reform and digital transformation agenda.

The milestone was formally highlighted at a press briefing led by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who commended Galaxy Backbone for its sustained support and contribution throughout the implementation of the programme.

GBB has played a critical role in enabling this transition by providing secure, scalable, and shared digital infrastructure that supports the digitisation of government processes across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Through the 1Government Cloud, MDAs have been empowered to migrate from paper-based workflows to digital platforms, improving efficiency, collaboration, data security, and service delivery across the Federal Civil Service.

In addition, GovMail, GBB’s secure government email platform, has strengthened official communication, enhanced records management, and reinforced cybersecurity standards—key pillars in sustaining a paperless operating environment.

Galaxy Backbone acknowledges the collective efforts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of ICT, consultants, partners, and dedicated public servants whose commitment and collaboration ensured the smooth delivery of this initiative.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, was represented at the press briefing by Akintayo Bamisaye, Acting Group Head, Research, Digital Innovation and Skills Department (RDIS).

GBB describes the achievement as a strong close to 2025 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Federal Government in building a modern, efficient, and digitally enabled public service.


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Jumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity

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At the close of 2025, Temidayo Ojo, the CEO of Jumia Nigeria, reflected on a year-end shopping season that points to the growing maturity of the country’s e-commerce market. “Black Friday is no longer a single, short-lived spike in activity,” he said.

“It has become a familiar, anticipated moment in the retail calendar, where consumers shop deliberately and with confidence.”

Preliminary KPIs for the two months ended November 30, 2025, show strong year-on-year growth in both orders and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), with GMV growth outpacing order growth. This indicates that customers are placing fuller, more considered baskets rather than shopping in fragmented transactions. Nigeria ranked among Jumia Group’s better-performing markets, with engagement remaining steady throughout the Black Friday period rather than spiking briefly and tapering off.

A key factor behind this performance is the growing familiarity of consumers with online shopping. Customers are increasingly leveraging platform features such as saved carts, brand stores, and price comparison tools to plan purchases in advance. This trend suggests that digital commerce is becoming embedded in everyday habits rather than being viewed as a one-off event.

Ojo also highlighted the role of Jumia’s JForce network in connecting digital commerce to local communities. “Our agents are critical to ensuring that customers across Nigeria, including secondary cities and smaller communities, have access to variety, consistent pricing, and reliable delivery,” he said. “During peak periods like Black Friday, JForce agents can respond faster, serve more customers efficiently, and build stronger local relationships. This isn’t just a distribution channel—it’s a pathway to sustainable income and inclusion.”

Reflecting on the overall performance, the CEO concluded: “What we’re seeing this year-end is steady engagement across categories, stronger consumer confidence, and partners like our JForce agents benefiting from increased activity.

“It confirms that Nigeria’s e-commerce ecosystem is maturing, growing in a more structured and resilient way. As the December Holiday Sale continues, we expect these patterns of familiarity, trust, and participation to sustain momentum and drive both commerce and community impact across the country.”


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Galaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking

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Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.

Galaxy Backbone Tops FG's Website Performance Ranking

This is a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s digital economy.

The ranking, conducted by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), is the definitive benchmark for digital excellence and transparency across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, managing director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone, received the award during a ceremony in Abuja.

He described the feat as a validation of the agency’s“Nigeria First”data sovereignty strategy and its relentless pursuit of service excellence.

This recognition comes as the Federal Government intensifies its push to achieve a fully paperless civil service by December 31, 2025.

GBB has been the primary architect of this transition through its 1Gov Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform, which now hosts the operations of almost all federal MDAs.

The award adds to a growing list of accolades for Galaxy Backbone in 2025, following its recent win of the “International Standard Excellence Award for Best IT Service Provider.”

As the central hub for government shared services, GBB’s performance serves as a blueprint for other agencies currently undergoing digital transformation.

With its expanded fiber-optic backbone now covering over 13 states and its secure cloud solutions, Galaxy Backbone remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s vision to become a leading digital nation by the end of the decade.

 


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