Nigerian govt fines lottery operator N10m 

The National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) has slammed a fine of N10million on a lottery operator, Sponge Nigeria Limited, for violating the operational terms and conditions of its licence.

In a letter to Sponge Nigeria Limited dated May 27, 2020, and signed by its Director-General, Lanre Gbajabiamila, the commission also directed the company to pay, without further delay, all lucky winners in its concluded promotional lottery captioned: “Better Life Billionaire Promo.”

According to NLRC, Sponge Nigeria Limited had refused to pay several participants who won money totaling N138,000,000.00 in its promotional lottery six months after the exercise citing several unacceptable reasons for its failure to fulfill the promise.

The commission said the operator’s failure to pay winnings undermined the integrity of the lottery/gaming industry and was inconsistent with transparency accountability and fairness which are hallmarks of its operations.

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It said: “Your continued failure and/or refusal to pay legitimate winnings is a flagrant violation of the National Lottery Act 2005 (“Act”) and Regulation, and Operational Terms and Conditions, which were duly signed by you on 2nd August 2019.

“By accepting NLRC permit for the BLB promo, Sponge was legally bound to conduct its affairs with all due propriety and protect participating stakeholders.

“Under express terms of the signed Terms and Conditions, Sponge promised to ensure that all prizes and monies due to prize winners are redeemed in full.”

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