Online Gambling in Nigeria

Is Online Gambling Legal in Nigeria?

Online gambling in Nigeria is regulated by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, with betting, bingo, online casino, lotteries, fantasy sports, and online poker all legal in the country.

For all gambling in Nigeria, the key pieces of legislation are the National Lottery Act of 2005, and the National Lottery Regulation of 2007, but, online gambling is not yet clearly defined in law. The gambling age is defined by law, and people below the age of 18 cannot legally gamble. There are currently no payment restrictions when depositing or withdrawing money to foreign or local bookmakers, and players from Nigeria can choose from a wide range of payment methods.

Before 2004, the lottery industry was unregulated and a grey area in Nigeria. Then, the Lagos State Lotteries Law 2004 came in, and the Lagos State Lotteries Board became functional in 2005. In the same year, the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) was established through the National Lottery Act of 2005.

The NLRC came into existence to regulate the operations of the lottery business, protect players and the general public. In 2008, the law was updated and LSLB was empowered to issue multiple lottery licenses in addition to the State-owned lottery license thereby providing a competitive platform for lottery operators in the State.

Gambling is generally split into two categories in Nigeria, legal and illegal forms of gambling. Legal forms of gambling are "skill" based such as sports betting, lotteries, racing, and other skill-based games. Illegal forms are non-skill based games or games of chance.

Some states in Nigeria regulate gambling at a state level, such as the Lagos State Lotteries Board. Domestic gambling in Nigeria is limited to games of skill by the 1990 Criminal Code Act, but there is no mention of online gambling in this law.

We recommend only gambling on Nigerian betting sites that have valid licenses in the state you live in, or if they are on the list of licensed operators on the National Lottery Regulatory Commission website.

Licensed Nigerian Betting Sites

Compare our list of all the licensed and legal Nigerian betting sites. If the betting site does not appear on this list, it could be against the law to gamble on. But, both offshore and online betting sites can accept players from Nigeria, although not all accept Nigerian Naira.