The Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), Peter Igho has read the riot act to operators of lottery businesses who function without licenses or defraud Nigerians with fake promotional lotteries.

Addressing a gathering at the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the commission and the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Igho said severe sanctions will henceforth be meted out against any company that cheats Nigerians or fails to meet the standards for lottery business in the country.

The Director General told the gathering that the NLRC have observed the unfair practices among the operators of lotteries in Nigeria as most of them fail to comply with the commission’s provisions. Instead, “they give excuses that they are running a loyalty or reward scheme whereas what they actually run is lottery.”

In Nigeria today, telecoms companies and other organisations run promos and announce winners without explaining to the public how the winner emerge. The lottery regulatory commission further insist that in some cases, after televising the winners, the prizes are hardly received fully or not received at all.

Mr Igho said the commission is working at strengthening its enforcement machinery to ensure maximum compliance with the Lottery Act.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Eugene Juwah said the collaboration between the two regulatory bodies will bring an end to sharp practices especially on the side of network operators who have abused the lottery business over the years