How Similar Are Nigerian and New Zealand Gambling Industries?
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Nigeria is one of the African countries that have a great passion for gambling, mainly football betting and lottery, with around 60 million residents who would place bets. This figure is growing, making the country one of the biggest gambling markets in Africa.
Akin to Nigeria, New Zealand is reputed for being extremely active in gambling, particularly in sports betting spheres, with, on average, a $572 quarterly spend. As gambling thrives in Nigeria and New Zealand, how similar are their gambling industries?
Development of the Gambling Industry in New Zealand
The love story between New Zealand and gambling has been for decades. Though this country has strict laws related to gambling, growth was spurred by a massive increase in offshore iGaming sites.
Actually, NZ gambling is under the Gambling Act 2003, which prohibits local remote interactive gambling except for online lottery. Nonetheless, the iGaming sites outside the country can cater to Kiwi gamblers, as the laws only apply to NZ-based operators.
In addition, these overseas gambling sites are not subject to New Zealand regulations, so they can increase gambling fees to players. Based on consultancy firm Regulus for SkyCity’s research, the online gambling revenue for offshore gambling has grown from $139.3m to $332.6m between 2014 and 2020, with an annual increase rate of 15.6%. This regulation remains a controversial debate because online gambling has existed since the 1990s and several countries run their own online gambling platforms.
In July 2019, the Minister of Internal Affairs released a public discussion as part of the review of online gambling in New Zealand. Pending the outcome of consultation documents, the Kiwis entertain at NZ platforms without the risk of breaking any laws. The punters’ risk is registering at offshore gambling brands that may not be regulated and have no approaches to protect them.
Development of the Gambling Industry in Nigeria
The stigma attached to gambling makes it harder to be regulated in Nigeria. Actually, gambling was considered an antisocial activity and condemned by some religions prior to the regulation. Some types of gambling have been regulated since the 1990s to generate tax revenues, whereas the National Lottery was legalised in 2005 under the National Lottery Act 2005.
Nigeria hasn’t yet implemented specific legislation associated with online gambling. The very common gambling form is online sports betting, but some Nigerian aficionados enjoy keeping entertained with other types of gambling such as lottery and online casinos. In fact, football betting is the most popular entertainment, but they are also seduced by other betting forms, namely tennis, cricket, basketball, and local sports.
As the smartphone has been steadily increasing, mobile gambling is the most popular option among Nigerian gamblers as well. Today, punters can wager on their mobile phones at several Nigerian sportsbooks. Added to wagering in the betting shops, they can register at domestic sports betting websites and offshore sites.
Nigerian and New Zealand Gambling Similarities
Legal Forms of Gambling
Although New Zealand and Nigeria lie in two different hemispheres, the two countries show similarities in terms of legal forms of gambling. Some forms of gambling are permitted for residents of 18 years and over, which include sportsbooks, casinos, and lotteries. As stated above, the lottery is a common gambling form allowed in this African country.
The aficionados are also permitted to bet on land-based sports betting and casino games, which are also popular and legal gambling types there. Concerning New Zealand, physical casinos and sports betting are the primary gambling scenes there, with six big gambling establishments throughout the country. Moreover, as the lottery is the oldest gambling form, gamblers can try their luck with the physical and online lotteries available.
Regulation of Online Gambling
New Zealand resembles Nigeria with regard to online gambling regulation. In effect, gambling on overseas sites or apps is technically legal as there are no specific laws to ban remote interactive gambling. Nonetheless, with the proliferation of online gaming sites outside the country, online players are not protected by specific laws.
Similar to Nigeria, no jurisdiction hasn’t yet been implemented, which limits government influence over the online gambling market. Since foreign online casinos are not prohibited, NZ and Nigerian players gamble on offshore websites, which can be harmful because these web-based sites may not be regulated at all.
Harm Minimisation Mechanisms
Gambling on offshore companies is not prohibited in Nigeria and New Zealand. Hence, the Nigerian and NZ players can easily find their preferred websites as it is entirely legal for oversea operators to offer their service to them. With so many foreign gambling companies looking to take advantage of opportunities in this thriving area, it’s crucial for gamblers to be aware of the sites’ reputations before registration.
The harm of unregulated platforms is the major problem that arises, as the countries haven’t yet introduced regulations to protect the players. The NZ and Nigerian gamblers may sign up at rigged casinos or sports betting sites posing harm to them, namely gambling addiction and different types of scams. With a lack of strict regulation and enforcement, along with outgrowth in web-based gambling opportunities, gambling-related harm has evidently increased in these two countries.
While Nigeria does not have an online infrastructure of its own, its leadership permits its residents to gamble online if they can find suitable operators.
As it stands, several UK online gambling providers are happy to bring Nigerian online gamblers into the mix.
It is also the case in New Zealand; the country actually welcomes offshore gambling because there are no strict rules to ban these services. Both Nigeria and New Zealand> can play at online gambling sites based outside the countries, which can be incredibly detrimental to gamblers.
