On Friday, 22 November 2024, seven justices of the Supreme Court ruled. The National Lottery Act 2005 was void. Lagos had filed the suit in 2008. By the time judgment came, the question of who licenses lottery companies in Nigeria had a new answer.
It was the states.
That ruling changed what a “registered” operator means. This page, first published in 2021 as a list of lotto companies tied to the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, has been rebuilt from the official register of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority as of October 2026.
| Item | Position as of October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Federal regulator | The NLRC no longer operates; the FCT Lottery Regulatory Office, inaugurated in May 2025, licenses operators in Abuja |
| Lagos regulator | Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSLGA), under the LSLGA Law 2021 |
| Legal status | Lottery and gaming are state matters, except in the FCT |
| Central Gaming Bill | Passed by the National Assembly on 2 December 2025; the President said he will not sign it |
| How to check a licence | Search the LSLGA register by category and confirm the licence end date |
| Minimum age | 18 |
What the Supreme Court decided
The case, Attorney-General of Lagos State and Others v Attorney-General of the Federation and Others, was numbered SC.1/2008. Justice Mohammed Idris delivered the lead judgment. Lagos had waited 16 years.
The panel, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, held that the National Assembly lacks the power to make laws on lotteries and games of chance for the states, because the subject does not appear among the 68 items on the exclusive legislative list of the 1999 Constitution. The vote was unanimous. It issued perpetual injunctions stopping the Attorney-General of the Federation and federal agencies from enforcing the Act inside any state. By 2022, 34 other states had joined the suit as defendants. The National Assembly keeps its lawmaking power over the FCT alone.
For the federal commission, the consequences were direct. In May 2025 the FCT Administration inaugurated the FCT Lottery Regulatory Office, with Lanre Gbajabiamila as its Director-General, and the office said existing NLRC licences would remain valid for their full term and be recognised under the new FCT framework. Legal commentary published in June 2026 treats such legacy licences as insufficient for nationwide operations. Abuja is now the limit.
The bill that tried to bring it back
On 2 December 2025, the National Assembly passed the Central Gaming Bill. It would have handed the federal government control of lottery and gaming across the states and the FCT. Lagos had already gone back to the Supreme Court in November 2025, seeking leave to start contempt proceedings against the legislature.
Then the President spoke.
“What I want you to forget is centralised lotto, go and read the constitution again. It is a residual matter,” President Bola Tinubu told the APC National Executive Committee in Abuja that December, as reported by ThisDay.
Bashir Are, who heads the LSLGA, was blunter in January 2026. “The Central Gaming Bill is dead,” he said. Under a reciprocity arrangement, he added, a Lagos licence can now be used in other states.
Lagos is not alone. Rivers, Ogun and Plateau had set up their own gaming bodies before the ruling. On 7 May 2025, the Federation of State Gaming Regulators of Nigeria adopted a Universal Reciprocity Certificate.
Confirmed licensees on the Lagos register
The LSLGA register lists about 190 entries across 17 categories, from online sports betting to casinos and gaming machines, and the table below covers the lottery, pools and betting names readers know best. Each line reflects the register as consulted in October 2026.
| Brand (licensed company) | Category and licence end date on the LSLGA register |
|---|---|
| Baba Ijebu (Premier Lotto Limited) | Public online lottery, to 14 October 2028 |
| Golden Chance Lotto (Winners Golden Chance Venture Limited) | Public online lottery, to 21 June 2030 |
| Green Lotto (Brentwood Multiservices Global Limited) | Public online lottery, to 30 November 2026 |
| GD Lotto (Redstar Lotus Nigeria Limited) | Public online lottery, to 16 April 2029 |
| Wesco Pools (Wesco Pools Limited) | Pools betting, to 31 December 2026 |
| Bet9ja (KC Gaming Networks Limited) | Online sports betting and casino, to 2 October 2027 |
| BetKing (SV Gaming Limited) | Online sports betting and casino, to 24 October 2026 |
| SportyBet (Marawin Limited) | Online sports betting and casino, to 4 January 2027 |
| AccessBet (TM Gaming Networks Limited) | Online sports betting and casino, to 4 August 2027 |
Dates matter. Several names from the 2021 version are gone.
Nairabet, Merrybet, Western Lotto, 1960bet, UBC365, Hamabet and a long tail of Abuja and Enugu lottery firms could not be found on the Lagos register. No other official list confirming them was located. They have been removed.
Two more, MLotto and Surebet247, appear on the register with licences that ended in July 2026.
Retail customers can still find Bet9ja and BetKing outlets across the state; our guides to Bet9ja shops and BetKing shops cover locations, and a separate explainer covers withdrawals from SportyBet.
Checking an operator yourself
The LSLGA advises searching its register by licence category, then reading the expiry date. A lapsed licence means the operator may not offer that service until it renews. It also publishes a list of illegal operators. Its guidance is explicit that a national licence is not enough: anyone offering gaming in Lagos must hold an LSLGA licence.
Gambling is for adults aged 18 and over. No exceptions. Use only licensed operators, set limits before you play, and report any site missing from the register through the regulator's complaint channel.
This article was most recently revised and updated 6 hours ago
