Lagos Gives MTN and Airtel 30 Days to Cut Off Unlicensed Betting. Here Is What Changes

If you place bets in Lagos through a USSD code, an SMS service or a game billed to your airtime, some of those services may soon go dark.

The Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSLGA) has given MTN, Airtel, Globacom, 9mobile and value-added service (VAS) providers 30 days to check that every betting and gaming business on their networks holds a valid Lagos licence. Anything unlicensed must be suspended.

What happened

In a public notice published this week, the LSLGA told telcos and VAS providers to do four things:

Verify the licence and gaming tax status of every gaming operator using their platforms in Lagos.

Stop onboarding gaming businesses that cannot show a valid state licence.

Suspend existing gaming services that are not authorised.

Hand over transaction records, carrier billing data and revenue-sharing information for gaming operators from November 22, 2024 to the date of the notice.

The authority was blunt about one point. An NCC licence for telecom or VAS activity does not give anyone permission to run betting in Lagos. Using a telco or a payment channel does not remove the need for a state gaming licence.

The key numbers

30 days: the compliance window, which closes around mid-November 2026.

November 22, 2024: the start of the records period. That is the date the Supreme Court ruled that lotteries and games of chance fall under state powers, not federal.

About 23 months: the period of gaming taxes, levies and the Good Causes Levy Lagos wants to recover, plus penalties and interest.

4 networks: MTN, Airtel, Globacom and 9mobile are named directly.

Under Section 101(5) of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority Law 2021, directors and senior officers can be held personally liable alongside their companies if an offence happens with their consent or through their neglect. That is a strong incentive for telcos to act fast.

Why it matters to Nigerians

Betting is huge in Nigeria. Launch Base Africa puts the national gambling market at about ₦5.6 trillion in 2026, with sports betting making up roughly 75% of online activity. A lot of that money moves through phones.

Until now, telcos and VAS aggregators have been the quiet middlemen. They host the short codes, bill games to airtime and share the revenue. Lagos is now making them gatekeepers. If a betting service cannot prove it is licensed, the network carrying it is expected to cut it off.

This is also part of a bigger fight. Since the 2024 Supreme Court ruling, Lagos has been pushing hard on unlicensed operators. It named 42 unauthorised firms in September 2025 and 59 in April 2026, according to Launch Base Africa. Going after the networks is a new and much wider net.

What to do if you bet on your phone

Check that the platform you use is licensed by the LSLGA before you deposit more money.

Withdraw winnings sitting on any service you are unsure about. If it gets suspended, getting your money out could become harder.

Watch for SMS notices from your network about suspended gaming services or short codes.

Be careful with airtime-billed games. Check your balance and unsubscribe from any you no longer use.

What to watch next

The big question is how MTN, Airtel and the others respond. None of the reports we reviewed carried a response from the telcos, the NCC or the betting companies. Watch for suspensions of USSD and SMS gaming services as the deadline nears, and for any legal pushback. After the 30 days, the LSLGA says it will issue statutory notices and use every enforcement tool the law allows.

Sources: Nairametrics, The Guardian Nigeria, ThisDay, Launch Base Africa.