How to Get a Sports Betting License in Nigeria
In Nigeria, sports betting has become a major industry, with many betting companies emerging in recent years. As a country dominated by youths who strive to make ends meet in the face of harsh economic realities, Nigeria has emerged as the second most popular country in Africa when it comes to betting.
However, to operate a betting business legally in Nigeria is not really a smooth sail; you must be licensed by the authentic licensing body. In Nigeria, the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) is the authentic body responsible for licensing betting companies.
In this blog post, we will discuss thoroughly the
There are different processes involved in obtaining a sports betting license in Nigeria, including the requirements and steps you will take to ensure a successful application.
Overview of the Licensing Process
Like I told you before, to start a sports betting business in Nigeria, you need to obtain a license from the NLRC, which is the regulatory body responsible for issuing licenses to betting companies in Nigeria. But before this procedure is initiated, you must have a registered company with sports betting in its nature of business. The body in charge of registering companies including sports betting company is corporate affairs commission, the company must meet up with the minimum share capital of N20m shares.
The procedures starts with reaching out to us,or your preferred cac agents to first register the company for you. the registration are similar with the same of registering a company in Nigeria, except that the minimum share capital must be met.
I will advise you not to go to any other agency except the NLRC.
A lot of people who are not privy to this information have been scammed by one agency or another; I hope you learn from their mistakes. The process of obtaining a license is a bit tedious.
 The procedures must be strictly followed, remember to mention your objects, if you are to do online casino games, and football games, let your agent know. I am going to divide it into four main stages so it will be easier for you to understand: pre-application, application, review, and approval. Each stage has its own requirements and procedures that must be followed
Pre-application
Before applying for a license, you need to carry out extensive research on the requirements and procedures involved.
 Take this step seriously. You can ask those who already run a betting company, or better yet, you can obtain information on sports betting license from Nigeria lottery regulatory commission or from Lagos state lotteries Board . The two agencies can issue you with the license, when you intend to run the company in Lagos, you need to comply with NLRC AND LAGOS LOTTERIES BOARD.
Note: A foreigner cannot fully own a sport betting company in Nigeria, he must relinquish about 35 percent of the equity shares holding to a Nigerian.
Application Stage
Once you have gathered all the necessary information, congratulations! You are ready for application. You can then proceed to the application stage.
The application stage involves submitting an application form and all the required documents to the NLRC. The application form can be obtained from the NLRC office or downloaded from their website. Some of the documents you will be required to submit include:
- Certificate of incorporation
- Memorandum and Articles of Association
- Tax Clearance Certificate
- Police Clearance Certificate
- Business Plan
- Evidence of financial capacity
- Technical Requirements
- Staff List
Review Stage
After you have submitted your application, the NLRC will start investigating your company to know if they’re legitimate or not.
 There are a lot of scam companies that acquire these licenses with the intention of defrauding innocent people, so the NLRC will review your application and carry out a thorough investigation into your background and that of your company.
The investigation will cover your financial capacity, technical expertise, and criminal history. depending on the agency you went for, it can take up to 10 working days . Note, upon this successful review the National lottery body will issue you with a temporary license, valid for 90 days.
Approval Stage
Now if you manage to survive the review stage and your application is successful, congratulations to you as it’s no easy feat. I know a lot of companies that failed woefully after waiting for months.
You will be issued a license to operate a sports betting business in Nigeria. The license is not a one-time thing though; it is only valid for a period of five years for Lagos state, while license from NLRC lasts for 10 years with option to renew, it is important to renew Failure to renew it after expiration will mean automatic suspension.
Requirements for Obtaining a Sport Betting License in Nigeria
To obtain a sports betting license in Nigeria, you must meet certain requirements. Some of the requirements include:
- You must be a registered company in Nigeria.
- You must have a minimum share capital of 20 million naira.
- You must have a physical office in Nigeria.
- You must have a functional website for your business.
- You must have good financial standing.
- You must have a good track record of compliance with the regulatory requirements. Don’t default on the agreement you had with them. A company I know defaulted, and the consequences were severe.
- You must have a good reputation and good character.
- Payment of permit fees within 30-days of receipt of notification;
- Bank guarantee of at least N25,000,000, valid for no less than one year;
- Connection of betting platform to the NLRC’s monitoring and reporting framework to ensure compliance with the approved standards;
- Proper immigration documents where the directors or shareholders are foreigners.
- Certificate of Capital Importation and other investment documents from the Nigerian Investment Promotions Commission (NIPC), for companies with foreign ownership/participation;
- Execution of Terms & Conditions of Operation of Sports Betting Schemes; and
- Copies of duly executed service level agreement with third-party providers such as payment gateways providers.
Government Agencies that you aids in Sports betting license.
When it comes to sports betting license in Nigeria, the following government agencies are important.
i. Corporate Affairs Commission. (They are in charge of the pre-registration and post registration statutory compliance of companies seeking to do sports betting in Nigeria.
ii. National lottery Commission (During the process ,you are expected to show your certificate of sports betting .
iii. Lagos state lottery board (the state-owned agency licensing sports betting in Lagos state
iv. Economic and financial crimes commission- During the process, you are expected to evidence certificate of compliance on money laundering (SCUML CERTIFICATE)
v. Federal inland Revenue service and stamp duties office (they are in charge of pre- registration tax and post registration tax returns monthly filed by the sports betting company.
vi. Advertising practitioners’ council of Nigeria (they are in charge of advertisement and sports betting companies must comply with advertising regulations.
POST LICENSE MONTHLY TAX RETURN OF A SPORTS BETTING COMPANY IN NIGERIA
After commencing operations, A sport betting company must remit 3% tax on monthly sales turnover; one percent (1%) to the NLRC and (2%) to National Lottery Trust Fund respectively, on or before the tenth (10th) day of the following month.
CATEGORIES OF BETTING LICENSE IN NIGERIA– The category of betting licenses in Nigeria from the national lottery commission are:
- Lottery License
- Sports Betting License
- Promotional License
 The following sports betting operators like Bet9ja, NaijaBet, and Nairabet are using sports betting license.
Benefits of Obtaining a Sport Betting License in Nigeria
Obtaining a sports betting license in Nigeria has many benefits, including:
Legitimacy:
Operating a betting business without a license is illegal in Nigeria. Obtaining a license gives your business legitimacy and protects it from legal sanctions.
Customer Confidence:
Customers are more likely to trust and do business with a licensed company than an unlicensed one.
Access to More Markets:
With a license, you can access more markets and attract more customers, leading to increased revenue for your business.
PRICING: The price of obtaining betting license such as online sports betting varies
In lagos state, if you apply to Lagos state lottery board, they will require share capital of a registered company (minimum share capital is N20M shares).
Lagos state lottery board will demand N500k Application fee.
Lagos state board will require N50m license fee
Lagos state lottery board will require will require 10m renewal fees.
Lagos state lottery board will not ask for guarantee fee unlike National lottery Regulatory commission.
Lagos state lottery board license is renwable after 5 years.
Application to the National lottery Regulatory commission license
NLRC will ask for share capital of N30m shares for the company being registered for betting .
NLRC will ask for Application fee of N2,000,000.
NLRC will ask for License fee of N100m Naira, but where your company is a member of Nigeria bookmakers Association, a concession of 50 percent is applicable.
NLRC will ask for bank guarantee of N25m and this license is renewable after 10 years.
Credibility:
A license gives your business credibility and makes it more attractive to investors.
Conclusion
Obtaining a sports betting license in Nigeria is a rigorous process that requires careful planning and compliance with regulatory requirements.
A license gives your business legitimacy, credibility, and access to more markets. If you can meet all the requirements, I’ll advise you to get the license to operate a hitch-free betting company.