• The Innovation Ministry has committed to review how NOTAP registration requirements apply to digital and software-delivered services in gaming.
• The commitment followed the Enugu Gaming Conference, where the focus was iGaming technology, payment systems, licensing and local software ownership.
• Nothing has changed in law yet. The key question is whether a review makes it easier to measure imported software costs and create room for Nigerian-built alternatives.
Nigeria’s gaming industry has spent years talking about who can operate. The newer question is who builds the software underneath the operation.
A sportsbook looks simple from the outside. Underneath is a chain of code: betting engines, data feeds, risk systems, payment tools, customer checks, fraud detection and player-protection software.
The technology below the betting app
This story is about iGaming technology, not video-game rules. At the Enugu Gaming Conference, Nigeria’s Innovation Minister said the Ministry would review how NOTAP registration requirements apply to digitally delivered software and services. That is a review, not a new law.
In a THISDAY report, the Minister described a sector that relies heavily on foreign engines, odds feeds, data, risk systems and certification services. He asked how much Nigeria sends abroad in licence fees and royalties.
What NOTAP is reviewing
Modern software can be hosted remotely, sold by subscription, priced on revenue share and updated continuously. The Ministry said NOTAP would review requirements for digitally delivered software and consult industry representatives. The Enugu Gaming Commission account says progress is expected to be reported at the 2027 conference.
Local builders see a gap, not a ban
The goal is not to suddenly stop foreign technology. It is to measure what Nigeria rents and identify tools local companies can build competitively: fraud detection, risk scoring, payment reconciliation, geolocation integrity, verification and player-protection systems.
That will take commercial contracts, patient capital and regulation clear enough for serious companies to invest against. The review is only a first step, but it gives local builders a reason to watch the next one closely.
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Should Nigeria build more of the technology beneath its digital industries? Tell us what needs to change first.
