Monday- 2nd August, 2021: The Honourable Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Sen. (Dr). George Akume, has described the Nigeria Gaming Industry as a key player that contributed immensely to the funding of poverty alleviations programs and other good causes.
The Honourable Minister on Wednesday, made this assertion in his opening remark at the National Gaming Conference held at Eko Hotels and Suites Victoria Island, Lagos, organized by National Lottery Regulatory Commission, (NLRC).
The theme of the two-day conference was “Repositioning the gaming industry for better performance and enhanced revenue generation for stakeholders in the 21st century”.
According to him, lottery commission is an industry aimed in reducing the menace of high rate of unemployment especially among youth in the country.
He noted that COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the economic slowdown of the country which as a result of sub-optimal economic growth and declining Gross Domestic Product (GDP), over 100 million Nigerians entered into poverty.
The Senator stated that arising from poverty rate is the urgent need of Nigerian government to widen and strengthen its revenue streams, adding that government has began to look beyond Oil and Gas for revenue generation to sustain the Nigerian economy.
Akume also disclosed that the federal government has began to considered acquiring a central monitoring system (CMS) for the Gaming industry in Nigeria.
According to him, CMS will enable the commission and its sister agency, the national lottery trust fund, to perform maximally in their regulatory functions and provisions of lottery Good causes to Nigeria, respectively.
“The CMS is desperately desirable to enable the government to block leakages being experienced in the gaming industry as well as eliminate discrepancies often observed from the books of some operators.
“This will undoubtedly entrench transparency and accountability in the industry, thereby making things a lot easier for all stakeholders,” the minister said.
