08/16/26
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Nigeria’s Innovation Minister has committed to reviewing NOTAP registration requirements for digital and software-delivered services, while EGC2026 called for gaming regulatory reform and greater investment in indigenous technology.
Nigeria.- Nigeria’s Innovation Minister has committed the Ministry to reviewing National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) registration requirements for digital and software-delivered services, as the government examines technology-transfer arrangements in gaming.
According to a post-event article published by the Enugu State Gaming Commission, the Ministry will also examine how these technology-transfer agreements are classified and valued, with the Commission and industry representatives invited to participate.
According to the Commission’s account of the EGC2026 communiqué, Udeh also committed to returning to the Enugu Gaming Conference 2027 (EGC2027) to report publicly on progress.
The commitments followed the July 29–30 Enugu Gaming Conference 2026, held at the International Conference Centre in Enugu under the theme “Code, Capital and Compliance: Unlocking Nigeria’s iGaming Tech Opportunity.” The Commission said EGC2026 was designed to move the gaming conversation beyond betting and lottery operations towards technology, investment, regulation and indigenous technology development.
The Commission said: “Technology without capital does not scale. Capital without regulatory certainty does not stay.”
The communiqué called for states without dedicated gaming legislation to enact appropriate laws, alongside stronger inter-state coordination and data-sharing between gaming regulators. It also called for risk-based licensing of emerging gaming technologies and a review of the regulatory treatment of digitally delivered gaming services.
The Commission added: “Regulatory certainty is not the same thing as regulatory leniency. Serious investors do not necessarily expect fewer rules.”
The conference also identified indigenous Nigerian gaming technology and payments infrastructure as strategic priorities, alongside stronger links between research and commercialisation. The Commission said the issue was not about rejecting international technology or investment, but about ensuring Nigeria is not merely a market where gaming technology is consumed, but also a place where some of that technology is designed, financed, built, owned and exported.
EGC2026 also examined the investment and taxation environment, including the effective tax burden on operators, gaming-related taxes, regulatory complexity, customer acquisition costs and compliance overhead.
The conference addressed unlicensed and offshore gaming platforms, which the Commission said were identified as a shared threat to consumers, legitimate operators and government revenue. The communiqué called for responsible-gaming monitoring to extend beyond online platforms to agents and land-based outlets, including training agents to recognise customers who may be at risk.
The Commission said EGC2027 should be an accountability conference, with progress assessed against the 2026 commitments, including regulatory changes, indigenous technology development, investment, jobs and responsible gaming.
