hospitality and entertainment sectors of the economy, among others. In this interview with reporters over the weekend, he speaks on why he is supporting the call for transparency in the gaming industry in Nigeria.What is your interest in the gaming industry in Nigeria?
For example, Premier Lotto generates N45 billion monthly and N500 billion yearly as profit. After deducting the cost of operations, the winnings and other expenses, Premier Lotto should be paying about N20 billion yearly to the Lottery Trust Fund and the Federal Government as tax. In 12 years, Premier Lotto should have paid nothing less than N240 billion in remittances and taxes to the Federal Government. But sadly, facts have shown that only about N6 billion has been remitted in 12 years.
Very credible information which can be verified independently has it that Bet9ja makes over N1 billion daily. If it were to pay the statutory one and two percent that should go to the Commission and National Lottery Trust Fund, Bet9ja’s remittance to the Commission and Trust Fund should have been close to N2 billion per month.
The Ghana Games is responsible for about 70 percent of the revenue from the lottery business. But it is being done in an illegal way. This aids the manipulation of the system and under-declaration of what they ought to be paying the government. They divert the funds into property acquisition and other businesses.
May I at this juncture commend the universally-acclaimed Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Ibrahim Magu, for the good and thorough job that he and his team have done so far. They should keep up the good work and recover all the illicit funds in the hands of these criminals. The EFCC should also not forget the criminal aspect of their offences against the state.
“While thanking you for all your cooperation and supports in the past years, we look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship with the Commission in the year 2020. Some members of the mafia in the lottery business are the ones resisting. They say how can Western Lotto seek to change the corrupt system that they have institutionalized and been feeding fat on over the years. So, they decided to become whistle-blowers against Western Lotto.