Reps want foreign betting companies to pay tax to FG -Reps

By Christiana Ekpa

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Governmental Affairs, Hon Akin Alabi, on Wednesday stressed the need for international betting companies operating in the country to pay tax to the Nigerian government.

Hon. Alabi said this, during a public hearing on A Bill for an Act to Repeal the National Lottery Act No 7, 2005 and the National Lottery (Amendment) Act No 6, 2017 and Enact the National Gaming Bill.

 According to him, “Foreign operators that have customers in Nigeria are not paying to Nigerian authorities. Like one of the biggest gaming companies in the world Bet365, anybody can go to Bet365 (online) and register and fund and start playing. So they are making money off Nigerians but they are not paying any kobo to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS),” he said.

He said there should be no quarrel over whether the gaming industry should be controlled by the Federal or State governments and urged that all stakeholders should work together to make it work.

“We should not be fighting over who has control. We should be talking about how we co-exist because. Whether you like it or not no one can do without the other. The federal cannot for without the states and the states cannot do without the federal.

 “I have worked as an operator and now on the side of government, so I know in and out of the industry. I think all stakeholders should come together on how best to run this industry and we can now back it with some legislation,” he said.

 Alabi said the National Gaming Bill seeks to overhaul completely previous extant laws and provide for an Act that would fill previous inadequacies of the law and most importantly explore and exploit the full potential of the gaming industry which is one of the biggest industries with great prospects in Nigeria.

 Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila said the Bill is a crucial legislation deserving of thorough consideration and reasoned debate by the parliament of the people, acting in the people’s best interests. 

 The Speaker who was represented by the Deputy Leader of the House, Hon Peter Akpatason, said, “As legislators, we have a responsibility to meticulously review and examine every aspect of these Bills to ensure that we produce a final output that is clear in its objectives, thoughtful in the mandates it imposes, and reflective of the best aspirations of all our citizens.”