Nigeria offers a new offshore permit for licenced operators

Nigeria is preparing to implement a new remote operator permit for offshore-licensed operators, allowing enterprises to offer online gaming in Nigeria without a local presence.

Businesses who already possess a licence in another jurisdiction and seek to offer their services to Nigerian players would be eligible for a remote operator permit.

It will permit operators to provide casino games, bingo, slot machines, sports betting, and poker.

The validity of the permission will be five years. The initial charge for the permit is $100,000, followed by annual fees of $50,000 for the next four years.

The Nigerian National Lottery Regulatory Commission will establish restrictions that permit-holders must abide by.

The new authorization would allow the holder to offer their services in Nigeria as well as advertise in the country via print media or affiliate programmes.

Sentinal, a product of the UK-based Fintech company E-Technologies Global Limited, will power the new tax collecting system, which will be essential to the new administration. This will enable payment providers to deduct taxes at the time of sale and remit the cash to the Treasury instantly.

Mohammad Nami, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria, stated that the new system was a crucial method for increasing tax revenues at a time when this was a top concern for all governments.

“The world is entering a challenging time where there is a strong obligation on Governments to increase tax revenue as a percentage of GDP so as to provide much needed funding for local infrastructure and public services.

“Nigeria needs to innovate and harness technology to ensure that online transactions are taxed and accounted for.”

“We have been very impressed with the Sentinal System which allows us to not only collect tax revenues at source, but also provides us with tax reporting and monitoring tools in real-time. The system will integrate with our own TaxPro Max portal.”

The director general of Nigeria's National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lanre Gbajabiamila, stated that the country will welcome any offshore operators who pass its screening process.

“Online gaming continues to grow rapidly in Nigeria, particularly on mobile, and the adoption of E-Technologies’ Sentinal National Payment Gateway is a huge step to allow us to capture gaming duty at source,” he said.

“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.

“We are proud to be the first country to adopt the Sentinal System and we believe it will bring a real national benefit to Nigeria.”

David Kicks, chief executive officer of E-Technologies, described the transaction as an important milestone in the further expansion of the regulated sector at the expense of grey markets.

“This landmark deal will herald a new era in rapidly opening new regulated markets for responsible gaming operators, as grey market operating becomes increasingly problematic,” he said.

By fLEXI tEAM