The House of Representatives Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs has decided against abolishing sports betting but instead proposed implementing a Central Monitoring System to mitigate its negative impacts.
Chairman Hon Canice Nwachukwu emphasized this during a public hearing at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, urging compliance with the Lottery Regulatory Commission Act to regulate the sector effectively.
He stressed the importance of enforcing existing rules to prevent sports betting from harming society.
The lawmaker said, “We are all Nigerians. We would not go against people doing their business. They have rights to exercise their franchise. But what we are saying is we have to play within the rules of the game.
“We have to arm the system to control and enforce all the provisions that would allow gaming and betting to flow smoothly without becoming a social menace.
“I am not going to be here to say we are going to shut gaming and betting and people operating in that sector.
“What we would do is to make sure there is a level playing ground whereby all the mechanisms that should be out in place to ensure it does not become inimical to the society.
“We have to play within the rules of engagement. That comes to the issue of a central monitoring system. It must be introduced. This is going to a reasonable extent to help solve some of the problems we are having now.
“By the time we have the system in place some of these stories would become history. It is not going to be completely eradicated but to a reasonable extent it will solve some of these issues.”
