FCT-LRO commences full operations and gives seven days to regularise NLRC licences in Abuja

The Federal Capital Territory Lottery Regulatory Office (FCT-LRO) has commenced full regulatory operations in Abuja and ordered operators previously licensed by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) who operate or intend to operate in the Federal Capital Territory to begin regularisation within seven days of the notice. The FCT-LRO said valid NLRC licences will be converted and not cancelled for the remainder of their validity period.

Publication and scope of the notice

The FCT-LRO announced its start-up in a paid notice signed by its Director-General and published in Premium Times on 10 November 2026 under the headline "FCT-LRO COMMENCES FULL BUSINESS OPERATIONS". In that document the office presents itself as the authority responsible for the supervision, regulation and control of gaming activities within the Federal Capital Territory.

The notice instructs operators conducting gaming activity in the FCT to comply with FCT licensing and regulatory requirements and to deal with the FCT-LRO in all matters of [regulatory matters](/regulation), and promises a regulatory environment "transparent, consistent and predictable" for digital operations in the territory.

Activities the FCT-LRO is designated to licence

The notice reproduces the list of activities the office is empowered to licence and supervise. These include:

• Retail lotteries

• Consumer sales promotional campaigns

• Sports betting

• Charity and community raffles

• Fixed odds and pari-mutuel lotteries

• [Casino gaming](/casino)

• Interactive gaming, including mobile VAS and telco-facilitated gaming

Seven days for NLRC licence-holders

The section of the notice with immediate effect is directed at operators who held NLRC licences. All those who operate in the FCT, or intend to do so, must approach the FCT-LRO to regularise their status and begin that process within seven days from the publication of the notice. The office states verbatim that:

"any NLRC licence that remains valid and has not expired will be recognised for the remainder of its validity period and converted to the corresponding FCT-LRO licence."

To complete conversion, affected operators must surrender their NLRC-issued licences for verification and documentation, complete the office's regularisation procedures and obtain the corresponding gaming licence issued by the FCT-LRO. The notice does not specify the consequences for an operator that does not start regularisation within the seven-day window.

Position on online gaming

The FCT-LRO notes that the Supreme Court ruling did not fully resolve the regulation of online gaming nor grant exclusive control of that market to a single state. Therefore, the office holds that the online market remains open and that:

"Operators are free to choose the regulator from whom they wish to obtain their gaming licence or authorisation, based on their business model, operational needs and the regulatory framework they consider most suitable and beneficial to their business."

The notice adds that no state regulator should pressure or sanction an operator merely for choosing a licence issued by another regulator and reminds that online activity does not automatically exempt a platform from licensing obligations where they apply.

Legal basis cited by the FCT-LRO

The FCT-LRO grounds its authority in the Supreme Court judgment in Attorney-General of Lagos State & 21 Others v. Attorney-General of the Federation & 15 Others, Suit No. SC/1/2008, delivered on 22 November 2024, in which the Court declared the National Lottery Act 2005 unconstitutional. The notice also invokes Section 299 of the Constitution of 1999, which sets out the special status of the FCT and the legislative powers exercised by the National Assembly in place of a State House of Assembly.

The notice further recalls that a later attempt to create federal regulation via the Central Gaming Bill 2025 was passed by the National Assembly but did not receive presidential assent. Since then more than twenty states formed the Federation of State Gaming Regulators of Nigeria (FSGRN), which issues a reciprocity licence for online sports betting, online casino, online public lottery and online promotional competitions among member states.

Published lists and observations about them

The notice includes lists of operators recognised as licensed in the FCT in four categories: casino, sports betting, lotto and interactive gaming. The lotto list includes seven companies, among them Lucky9ja Lotto Limited, Derby Lotto Limited, Yellowdot Africa Nigeria Limited and Morrich Lotto Limited. Other lists include names such as Sporty Internet Ltd, KC Gaming Networks Ltd, Bet Afrik Limited and Football Internet Ltd.

The lists are published by company name rather than the brands visible to players. As released they contain repetitions, a numerical gap in the sports betting list and a residual marker "(INSERT LIST)", so the office warns they should be read with care.

Public recommendation and contact

The FCT-LRO asks members of the public to verify the licensing status of an operator before using its services: a venue or app that appears on the FCT-LRO lists is recognised by the territory regulator, while an online operator absent from those lists is not automatically considered unlicensed, since it may be authorised by another state regulator.

Enquiries about an operator's status may be directed to the FCT-LRO at 2B Embu Crescent, Ishaku Rabiu Estate, off Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja, or by telephone at +234 802 347 6076 and +234 813 052 5876.

The notice was published with a last updated date of 11 November 2026. It was not known how many NLRC licence-holders had already begun regularisation, what sanctions might follow after the seven-day deadline, nor whether the NLRC would respond to the notice.

Local and federal regulation in Nigeria and the FCT operator lists appear in the notice published in Premium Times.