The Chief Executive Officer at the Enugu State Gaming and Lotto Commission, Prince Arinze Arum, has reiterated that enforcement capability remains the major sticking point for the progress of several African regulatory jurisdictions.

In the industry’s quest to stay abreast of the realities of the fast-evolving market, Africa’s iGaming sector has largely shifted to become electronic, with regulators seeking to ensure they mitigate against the non-compliant influence of the black and grey markets. 

H2 Gambling Capital, in its Africa Optimum Market Structure report, noted that only about 15 African countries currently have in place some form of online-specific gambling regulation and of these, approaches broadly vary, with an unusually high focus on tax generation illustrating the need for better co-ordination amongst industry stakeholders to boost channelisation rates. 

Speaking to iGaming Expert at the Enugu Gaming Conference 2026 (EGC), Arum statd that the challenge is enormous, but with the unveiling of a unique online verification portal in real-time for licensed gaming operators, the Enugu State commission is aiming to set a benchmark for what online gambling regulations should look like in a practical sense. 

“The biggest oversight challenge has been trying to regulate a digital industry with frameworks that were largely designed for a physical gaming environment,” Arum said. 

“Technology has evolved much faster than regulation, creating opportunities for illegal and unlicensed operators to exploit regulatory gaps across borders. The solution lies in strong collaboration among African regulators, the deployment of technology-driven monitoring systems, intelligence sharing, and greater harmonization of regulatory standards. 

“No single regulator can effectively oversee a borderless digital gaming ecosystem on its own”, he adds expressing the lack of proper and adequate enforcement mechanisms for gambling regulations that have so far dogged Africa. 

However, he expressed optimism that Africa is moving in the right trajectory. 

“Africa is making steady and measurable progress, although at different speeds across jurisdictions. In Nigeria, for example, here at the Enugu State Gaming and Lottery Commission, we recently completed the deployment of a public verification infrastructure that enables anyone to verify every licensed operator, their license category, validity, approved domains, and even identify outlawed operators. 

“This reflects the growing commitment to transparency and technology-driven regulation. As more regulators embrace digital tools, data sharing, and risk-based supervision, I am confident Africa can move much closer to international best practices over the next few years.”

Enugu State Commission has implemented significant reforms and compliant enforcement steps in recent months, taking steps to ensure compliance across the sector.

 

 

 

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