Financial Integration for Player Protection

The Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSLGA) has announced plans to strengthen restrictions on self-excluded gamblers by leveraging Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) and National Identification Numbers (NIN). This move is designed to prevent individuals who have opted out of gambling from accessing betting platforms through financial institutions.

Chief Executive Officer of LSLGA, Mr. Bashir Are, disclosed the initiative during a press conference marking the inaugural Africa Safer Gambling Week in Lagos. Are, who also serves as a trustee of the International Gaming Regulators Association and Chairman of the Federation of State Gaming Regulators, explained that the data obtained through the SafePlay self-exclusion platform would be linked with Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. This integration allows regulators to restrict access to gambling services via bank accounts, mobile money wallets, and other financial instruments.

Aside from the SafePlay, when we get our data from SafePlay, another thing we’re doing with another company called Uverify is KYC. Know your customer. When a particular player self-excludes himself, so what we do additionally, you can agree with me that there’s no gaming activities that can occur without financial instruments. So, you see that you use your wallet or your bank card, especially online. So, what happens is that you take that data, and with your BVN and NIN, we can further restrict you through the financial institution that they should block the gaming app from your banking application or from your mobile money wallet or the likes.

— Bashir Are, Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority

Beyond managing self-exclusion, the system is also intended to curb underage gambling. By utilizing the age data associated with bank accounts and identity numbers, the system can automatically flag and block individuals under the age of 18 from performing transactions on gaming platforms.

The Role of the SafePlay Platform

The initiative comes as gaming regulators, operators, and technology providers across the continent collaborate to promote responsible gaming. Central to this effort is the SafePlay platform, which allows users to voluntarily exclude themselves from registered gambling operators for specified durations.

Kayode Lawal, Chief Executive Officer of Safe Gambling Technologies, detailed that users can choose to self-exclude for periods ranging from three months to five years or longer. Once a user registers on the platform, all registered operators in Lagos are mandated to exclude that individual from their services. The system is designed to be irreversible during the chosen period to protect users from the temptation of returning to gambling during major sporting events.

SafePlay is a platform that allows users want to self-exclude themselves. Let’s say you’ve been playing with a certain operator, you think you’ve had enough, and you want to self-exclude yourself across the state, or the registered operator across the state. All you have to do is come to the SafePlay platform, register, and self-exclude yourself.

— Kayode Lawal, Chief Executive Officer, Safe Gambling Technologies

Lawal added that the platform also conducts follow-ups with self-excluded users to understand their motivations and provide tailored support where necessary. This human-centric approach ensures that the technology serves as a bridge to further assistance for those facing gambling-related challenges.

Promoting Responsible Gaming Habits

Stakeholders at the event emphasized that responsible gambling relies on informed decision-making. Mr. Fisayo Oke, Chief Executive Officer of Gamble Alert, noted that while the choice to gamble remains an individual liberty for those over 18, regulators and operators have a collective duty to ensure players understand the risks involved.

When we teach responsible gambling, we always want participants to know that responsible gambling rests on two very fundamental principles. Number one is that the decision to gamble or not to gamble within the context of civil liberty is that of the individual, as long as you have both the age of 18.

— Fisayo Oke, Chief Executive Officer, Gamble Alert

Mrs. Olabimpe Akingba, a board member of the Africa iGaming Alliance and Head of Responsible Gaming at Betpawa, highlighted that many customers are currently unaware of the tools available to help them control their gambling habits. She stressed that gambling should be viewed strictly as a form of entertainment rather than a viable source of income or a way to get rich quickly.

Enforcement and Sanctions for Non-Compliance

To complement the technological measures, the LSLGA has intensified field enforcement across Lagos. Mr. Are warned that the authority has deployed teams across three districts specifically to monitor and prevent underage gambling. The penalties for operators who facilitate gambling for minors are intentionally severe to serve as a deterrent.

• Enforcement teams are actively patrolling three districts in Lagos.
• Operators face heavy fines for selling tickets to minors.
• A coordinated message on responsible gambling is being delivered across participating African jurisdictions.

The punishment for operators that engage in such activities with underage is very stiff. You can imagine if you sell a ticket of 100 Naira to an underage, and we fine you 100 million. So that’s what we do.

— Bashir Are, Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority