The Federal Government is targeting to generate monthly revenue of N1billion from the proposed National Game, designed to compete with the popular Ghana Game which has over the years, proven to be an economic growth catalyst.
Lanre Gbajabiamila, director-general, National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), who disclosed this while addressing journalists at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, said the National Game was a pragmatic approach to boost the country’s revenue in the face of dwindling oil prices.
Gbajabiamila said the commission was working with relevant stakeholders to maximise the full revenue potential of the Nigerian lottery industry.
He observed that the lottery industry has not supported the country’s economic growth drive as much as it should be because the system has been porous over the years. The DG said the stakeholders’ meeting was scheduled at the instance of George Akume, Nigerian minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, to galvanise support for the smooth implementation of the Lottery Central Monitoring System.
Gbajabiamila said the unified system would enable the government to monitor the activities of lottery operators and also collect appropriate revenue accruing from lottery business. According to him, Nigeria has more population than Ghana and could take advantage of its numbers to build the economy through lottery.
“We are looking at a billion naira monthly revenue when we have everybody hooked up to the Central Monitoring System, where we will be seeing transactions made online, real time, anywhere in Nigeria.
“The national game is a game that we are trying to roll out. It would be made by Nigerians, and for Nigerians, in contrast to what we have in Ghana. Our operators in Nigeria also use the Ghana games. We want to replicate what the Ghanaians are doing with the Ghana game. We have 200 million Nigerians; that will enhance the revenue coming into the Nigerian lottery market”, Gbajabiamila said.
