Supreme Court Landmark Ruling: Nullification of National Lottery Act 2005 and Implications for State-Level Gaming Regulation in Nigeria

The Supreme (Apex) Court on the 22nd of November 2024, nullified the National Lottery Act 2005 enacted by the National Assembly. The judgment followed the suit filed in 2008 by Lagos and other states of the Federation, challenging the National Assembly’s powers to regulate lottery activities.

The states sought, amongst others, a declaration of the Court that the regulation of lottery activities does not fall within the remit of the National Assembly, under Part 1 of the Second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution as amended and is consequently not empowered to enact the National Lottery Act. The states as plaintiff(s) also sought a declaration that the National Assembly lacks the power to legally and constitutionally make any law to regulate and control the operation of lottery in Nigeria.

Ruling on the matter, the Supreme Court in a unanimous judgement consisting of seven members held that the National Assembly lacked the powers to legislate on issues relating to lottery in respect of all states of the federation, except the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. The court ruled that such powers only reside with the state Houses of Assembly, which possess exclusive jurisdiction over lottery.

This landmark decision ends the age long dispute in this sector. It also for now sets the record straight for investors and relevant stakeholders in the gaming industry who have hitherto been faced with the duplicity of laws in this sector, due to concurrent statutory obligations placed on lottery licensees. Whilst we anticipate a certified copy of the judgment, the regulation of online gaming platforms remains unclear on the basis that these operations are notably not limited to the confines of a particular state.

Is it likely to be in the contemplation of each state to want to regulate online lottery activities accessed by users in a particular state (as we have seen in the case of Lagos State)? Such involvement will introduce the problem of duplicity of laws, only now recently overcome in the physical lottery activity space. This is a potential area of concern in the sector, particularly as online gaming continues to grow astronomically in Nigeria.

Lastly, the nullification of the National Lottery Act on licensees who have only obtained licences issued by the federal agency; National Lottery Regulatory Commission may have their operations challenged by the various states outside of the FCT where they operate. Such licensee will now require a state lottery license(s).

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