A civil and public interest consortium in Nigeria, the Coalition of Good Governance (CCG) has branded the National Assembly’s move to reconsider the strongly opposed Nigeria Central Gaming Bill as a ‘voyage of legislative rascality, recklessness and lawlessness’ following the activist group’s recent media parley.
Back in July, the Federation of State Gaming Regulators of Nigeria (FSGRN) strongly opposed the enactment of the bill, which sought federal control over all games of chance. The first incarnation of the licensing regime was in the National Lottery Act 2005 but that was nullified by the Supreme Court in November 2024.
At the time the Supreme Court ruled the country’s National Lottery Act was void and its state legislative assemblies should regulate lottery and games of chance instead of the federal government of Nigeria.
But the House of Representatives has been pushing for a similar piece of law to pass, the Nigeria Central Gaming Bill, which largely mirrors the previous framework.
The chamber has come under fire for trying to flout the ruling of the Supreme Court – the final authority that defines federal laws or the constitution.
“Once the court has made a decision on a subject, it becomes final and binding on all persons and authorities – including the executive and the legislature,” Nelson Ekujumi, leader of the CCG group Comrade, said during its recent conference.
“We are at a loss to try and rationalise why the National Assembly, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, is attempting to illegally and unconstitutionally rewrite the law.
“This is nothing short of legislative provocation and lawlessness which stands condemned in all ramifications.
“If the Senate proceeds with this illegal bill, it would amount to a brazen defiance of judicial authority and a direct attack on the rule of law,” Ekujumi added.
Legal advisory calls the move unfounded
Clarifying the ongoing tussle between these bodies, gaming law expert and senior partner at Allen & Marylebone, Obinna Akpuchukwu says the move remains not just “unconstitutional” but “unfounded”.
Speaking to iGB, he is very critical of the National Assembly’s repeated moves to try and override the standing ruling on NIgeria’s
“The Central Gaming Bill, if passed into law will be unconstitutional,” Akpuchukwu says.
“The argument of the proponents of the bill to the effect that the bill seeks to regulate online/remote gaming activities in Nigeria and that the repealed National Lottery Act did not provide for the regulation of online/remote gaming activities, is with respect, unfounded.
“All the forms of gaming activities stated in sections 24(1) and 25(1) of the Central Gaming Bill which the Central Gaming Commission will regulate when the bill is passed into law are accommodated within the definition of “lottery” as provided in section 57 of the nullified National Lottery Act,” he continues.
“In other words, the provisions of the nullified National Lottery Act cover land-based, online and remote gaming activities and the Supreme Court did not make any distinction between land-based gaming and online/remote gaming activities.”
A diplomatic counsel to the matter?
Akpuchukwu suggests a formal process of amendment could be the only solution to achieve the National Assembly’s goals. Not to do so would render their current attempts null and void.
“In the decision of the Supreme Court in Attorney General of Lagos State & Ors vs Attorney General of the Federation & Ors (2025), the court emphatically declared that lottery and gaming are not matters listed in either the Exclusive or Concurrent Legislative Lists of the 1999 Constitution (as amended),” Akpuchukwu explains.
“Rather, gaming and lottery are items within the Residual Matters, meaning only state governments have the constitutional authority to legislate and regulate such activities within their territories. Neither the Exclusive Legislative list nor the Concurrent Legislative list contains ‘online gaming’.”
His opinion suggests that, if the National Assembly feels strongly that it needs to have a central regulatory body for online/remote gaming, then the best approach would be to begin the process of amending the constitution to include online gaming in the Exclusive Legislative list.
“The current attempt to enact the Central Gaming Bill into law will only be a wasted effort,” Akpuchukwu concludes definitively. “The Supreme Court is most likely to nullify it, just as it did the National Lottery Act.”
Opposing interests’ rhetoric heats up on the matter of the legality of Nigeria’s Central Gaming Bill.