As the Nigerian gambling industry continues to grow at an astronomical rate, gambling-related malpractices have also escalated.
Amongst the several vices in the industry, underage gambling arguably remains the most prevalent and the most disturbing in the country.
The legal gambling age in Nigeria is 18, but the execution of this age restriction is very poor.
Every weekend, thousands of under-18s visit gambling houses with reckless abandon, while an even greater number bet via their mobile devices online.
With the proliferation of mobile phones in Nigeria, more kids can now easily access gambling sites without anyone else knowing.
Sports betting and gambling activities require a certain level of maturity, which these children just do not have.
If the growing trend of underage betting is unchecked, these kids are at a high risk of gambling addiction, and the mental and financial problems that come with it.
This is why betting companies must take more responsibility and be more rigorous with their identity verification steps.
If the kids cannot sign up, then they cannot bet.
Unfortunately, many betting operators only pay lip service to the concept of responsible gambling.
They preach responsible gambling on their sites and in their adverts, but they do not take actual steps to curb the menace of underage gambling. They are more concerned with the volume of players they can attract, rather than the age and well-being of their customers.
The best place to weed out underage bettors is at the point of entry. Sadly, numerous bookies are very loose with their registration and verification procedures.
Once you are able to produce a phone number or an email address, you will be able to open a betting account in Nigeria. Some operators ask for the date of birth of the player, but this can easily be forged.
There needs to be an extra verification step where the player must provide some sort of document to confirm his/her identity before he/she can be allowed to place bets on the site.
Documents like National ID card, voter’s card, driver’s licence or international passport, that clearly show the person’s face, full names and date of birth must be uploaded before anyone can open a betting account in Nigeria
This is the best way to tackle underage gambling in the country.
The best betting sites in Nigeria are already quite big on responsible gambling, but more needs to be done. All registered bookies in the country must be made to conduct a detailed verification exercise on any potential customer.
This is where the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) must come in, put its foot down and be more forceful. They must compel all licensed bookmakers to enforce identity verification before processing a registration.
The betting companies may even go as far as demanding the National Identification Number (NIN) of the user before approving the account opening process. No measure is too great in the fight against underage gambling.
We cannot continue to fold our arms and watch our children slip into the dangerous waters of gambling. As stated earlier, they simply do not have the maturity to deal with the consequences of addiction.
Hopefully the regulatory bodies and betting operators will come together to devise more effective means of stamping out this vice.
