Explainer: who regulates betting in Nigeria after the 2024 Supreme Court ruling

In November 2024 the Supreme Court struck down the National Lottery Act 2005 as it applied to the states, holding that lotteries and gaming are matters for state governments. That one decision moved the weight of regulation from a single federal body to the states.

In practice, betting companies in Nigeria are licensed state by state, and the remit of the NLRC is now effectively limited to the Federal Capital Territory. The rules are still settling, so the details of who needs which licence, and where, may change.

State regulators have also agreed one route across their borders. A framework signed by the Federation of State Gaming Regulators of Nigeria created a Universal Reciprocity Certificate. It lets an operator run online sports betting and online casino in the member states. It applies only in those states, as a June 2025 briefing by Aluko & Oyebode sets out. A site’s footer can therefore name a reciprocity permit in place of a single state licence.

International sites, including the crypto sites, work under licences issued outside Nigeria. An offshore licence is a real licence, but it is not regulation by a Nigerian state authority: the rules are the issuing regulator’s, and a complaint goes there.

Tax is a separate matter from licensing, but it now shows on a payout. The withholding tax schedule of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service sets 5% for resident individuals and 15% for non-residents on winnings from lottery and gaming.

In September 2026 the service and the Lagos gaming regulator issued a public notice on winnings. Licensed operators deduct 5% from the net winnings of Lagos residents before they pay, and the amount deducted counts as a tax credit. Net winnings are gross winnings less the stakes and losses of the session, which runs for up to one calendar month.

Sports betting is open to anyone aged 18 or over where a state licenses it. A bookmaker licensed in Nigeria holds its licence from a state regulator; an offshore site holds none from a Nigerian state. For a punter, the practical consequence of the ruling is that no single federal register covers every bookmaker. The check starts on the site itself.

1. Look in the footer for the regulator the site names and its licence number.
2. Go to that regulator’s own website and look for the company there.
3. If the site names an offshore regulator, treat it as an international site and decide whether that is acceptable to you.
4. If the footer names no licence, ask support which licence covers your account before you decide.

Who regulates betting in Nigeria is, since 2024, mostly a question of which state. The licence each bookmaker names is shown in the table of Nigeria betting sites, and each betting site review sets out what the operator states about it. Whatever a table says, the footer of the site you choose is the thing to read. You must be 18 or over, and you can expect to be asked for ID before a withdrawal.