‘Nigeria generates over N730b from gaming yearly’

• Global market hit $674 billion in 2025

National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, has said that Nigeria generates over N730 billion from the gaming industry yearly.

He said this at the maiden National Symposium for the Nigeria Gaming Industry organised by Velex Advisory in partnership with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) and NDPB, held in Lagos on Thursday.

Olatunji said the gaming industry was becoming a major driver of the country’s economy, providing jobs to thousands of citizens. Quoting research findings, he said the global industry reached nearly $465 billion in 2020, having grown at a compound yearly growth rate of 2.1 per cent since 2015.

According to him, the market is expected to hit $674 billion in 2025 at a compound growth rate of 7.7 per cent. The figure could reach $895 billion in 2030.

He said over 60 million Nigerians, aged between 18 and 40, are involved in sport betting, with the operators paying taxes to the government and engaging young people who would have been jobless.

“The growth is driven by passion. People who play games or bet do so out of the passion they have for the sport, football in particular,” he said.

While delivering a paper titled, ‘Gaming and Data Protection Compliance – Implication for Regulators, Operators and Stakers: the Future of Cyber Security, the expert said the quality of data on the gaming industry has increased tremendously in recent years.

He, however, warned operators that data protection and privacy are key in safeguarding their businesses.

Velex Advisory executives said that Nigeria has the most attractive gambling industry with favourable regulations, huge gambling population and an increase in Internet penetration.

“We establish and sustain a good relationship with the regulators providing an advisory role to promote compliance and ensure the growth of existing gaming business in the industry,” the executive noted.

The Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lanre Gbajabiamila, noted: “The gaming market in Nigeria is experiencing progressive evolution; punters can conveniently place their bets on different platforms using various media access available.

“Also, Nigerian punters can access a variety of regulated digital games like sports betting, lotteries, slots, table games like poker and blackjack through both domestic and international commercial gaming operators.”

Gbajabiamila said one out of every 23 digital gaming transactions is fraudulent, with attack rates for account creation and payment transactions estimated at 5.6 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively.

Suppliers must, therefore, implement robust cybersecurity measures to lessen the risk of fraud and network security vulnerability, he said.

On his part, the Chief Technology Officer, Infoprive Limited, Gbolabo Awelewa, said it is important to know the actual number of people that are involved in gaming, which is the reason data management is key.