In a bid to deter unapproved lottery and gaming practices on telecommunications platforms through information and intelligence sharing, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has decided to sign a revised Memorandum of Understanding with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC).

According to the NCC, the MOU, which was signed in Abuja at the telecom regulators headquarters, will impact the gaming industry and is in sync with the Commission’s Strategic Vision Plan (SVP).

“We have decided to renew the MOU in a bid to promote fair practices in the industry for the protection of telecommunications consumers in relation to lottery and gaming activities,” Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta said.

He noted that the collaboration is in line with the provisions of the Commission’s SVP, 2021-2025, which provides for the facilitation of strategic partnership and collaboration with other bodies to enhance service delivery.

The initial MOU with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission expired in 2022. But the renewed MOU has some amendments and modifications made since no MoU is cast in stone, especially given the industry’s dynamic nature.

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Meanwhile, the Director General of NLRC, Mr Lanre Gbajabiamila has expressed confidence that the renewed 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.

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In the renewed MOU, NCC shall endeavour to block or disable illegal lottery gaming operators on the telecommunications service providers’ platform 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.