Nigeria
Nigeria gambling licensing: state licences and the FCT
Following the Supreme Court’s November 2024 judgment, the National Lottery Act no longer supplies a nationwide licensing basis across the states. Operators need the applicable state licence in each state where they operate; Lagos is regulated by LSLGA, while the FCT is a separate federal jurisdiction with official guidance referring to NLRC.
Online sports betting · Online casino · Lottery · Land-based casino · Land-based betting
Last reviewed: 2 November 2026
Regulator
State gaming regulators; Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSLGA) in Lagos; National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) for the FCT, with FCT Lottery Regulation Office guidanceCompany & local presence
There is no single incorporation-and-licensing checklist that establishes permission throughout Nigeria. For Lagos, LSLGA requires a limited liability company incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission; obtain separate filing and establishment requirements from every other target state. 1
Ownership requirements
Lagos publishes a local-content condition of “a minimum of 15% shares” held by Nigerians for a foreign-owned company, with an alternative bank guarantee or surety bond. Do not assume this is the ownership rule in other states or the FCT. 1
Required documents
For Lagos, prepare evidence of CAC incorporation and request the current product-specific checklist directly from LSLGA; its sports-betting page requires the relevant documents and licence before operations. Older indexed checklist downloads could not be confirmed live and are not relied on. 1 5
FCT guidance requests an application letter, completed form, comprehensive proposal and supporting documents, with the form signed by a director and company secretary. 3
Financial requirements
Fees
State and product charges must be checked separately; a payment to one regulator does not establish nationwide authority. LSLGA hosts differing generations of fee materials, so an older downloadable application fee should not be presented as a settled current tariff. Confirm the current amount with the regulator.
Capital
The Lagos gaming-categories page states “minimum share capital of N20,000, 000 (Twenty Million Naira)”. Other official-hosted application materials contain different capital requirements, so this page is not sufficient to resolve the current category-specific amount. Confirm the current amount with the regulator; no nationwide capital minimum is asserted. 1
Guarantees / bonds
Lagos describes a bank-guarantee/surety-bond alternative to local shareholding, but its published line has inconsistent numeric and written amounts. No reliable current amount can be extracted from that line. Confirm the current amount with the regulator and obtain written acceptance of the proposed security; do not extrapolate it to other states. 1
Application process
Map the states in which the business will operate and obtain each applicable state licence before serving that market. LSLGA’s official judgment notice confirms state regulatory authority following the November 2024 ruling; its online-sports-betting page requires licensing before operations begin. 4 5
Treat the FCT separately, not as another state and not as a route to a nationwide licence. The official FCT Lottery Regulation Office guidance describes NLRC application, pre-approval and post-approval stages; confirm the current division of administrative responsibility with both offices before filing. 3
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Timelines
The Lagos sports-betting page states that the licence is valid for “one year” and renewable annually; it does not establish a guaranteed approval turnaround. 5
FCT guidance gives an application review period of “21 business days”, extendable where additional information is required. This is not a national or state-wide processing commitment. 3
Official sources
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Requirements change; always confirm with the regulator or speak to our team.