After years of calls, deliberations by stakeholders, parents and concerned gaming operators, the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSLGA) has introduced Safe Play, a regulatory self-exclusion tool that empowers punters to take control of their gambling activities and minimize the risk of addiction.
According to the body, the introduction of SafePlay is now shifting that balance, offering licensed operators a state-backed tool to support their duty of care in a more structured and effective way.
Launched in Wednesday at The Regent Luxury Suites in Ikeja, SafePlay is designed to allow punters voluntarily exclude themselves from gambling for a period ranging from three months to five years. Once enrolled, their access to all licensed platforms is automatically restricted, and they must not be targeted with any form of marketing or promotional material throughout the exclusion period.
According to LSLGA, the system eliminates the inconsistencies of previous self-exclusion efforts, which were managed separately by each operator. It now gives the entire gaming sector in Lagos a single, enforceable standard for managing gambling-related harm.
Operators are not just encouraged but required to integrate SafePlay into their platforms as a condition of maintaining their licence in Lagos State, it said, adding that this mandate ensures uniform application of responsible gambling practices across the board, while also reducing the administrative burden on individual companies to create and manage separate exclusion systems.
Speaking at the launch, Executive Secretary, Association of Nigerian Bookmakers, Gift Tuadibofia, said: “This tool speaks to the future of regulation. Data-driven, humane, and inclusive.
The presence of addiction support organisations and civil society representatives at the launch highlighted the broader ecosystem approach SafePlay is helping to build. It promotes collaboration between regulators, operators, and mental health professionals, which is essential in addressing gambling harm beyond simple compliance.
CEO, LSLGA, Abiola Bashir said: “We are proud to be the first subnational authority in Nigeria to implement a comprehensive self-exclusion program,” said. It is a major step in building a responsible, ethical, and inclusive gaming ecosystem.”
“As the gaming landscape becomes more sophisticated, tools like SafePlay help operators move beyond damage control and toward meaningful support for their users tackling problem gambling not in isolation, but as part of a shared, system-wide responsibility.”
On his part, Responsible Gaming Officer (RGO), Bet9ja, Kayode Kolawole, said: “We are partnering with Safe Play because we believe that responsible gaming is the duty of all, it’s a core aspect of our business and it also leads to the sustainability of the industry.
“We have partnered with organisations, we took sensitisation campaign to Abeokuta, Ogun State in 2024. We also have tools that help users bet responsibly, set deposit limit and self-exclusion. We provide support for people that tell us that they are addicted to gambling.
“For us, I t’s not about the money. Sports better is not a job, it should be something one needs to do as a hobby. People should play with the money they can afford to lose.”
