The House of Representatives o Tuesday began its intervention in the clash between betting and gambling firms owned by a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Senator Buruji Kashamu, and billionaire businessman and philanthropist, Sir Kensington Adebutu, leading to a N500bn suit.

While Adebutu owns Premier Lotto, Western Lotto belongs to Kashamu.

The House of Representatives Committee on Inter-Governmental Affairs, on Tuesday, met with stakeholders in the industry in Abuja over the crisis between the companies.

At the hearing were the National Lottery Regulatory Commission and Nigerian Licensed Lottery Operators’ Forum as well as various lottery firms. Premier Lotto was represented by Ajibola Adebutu and Adebisi Adebutu, while Usman Tajudeen and Olumide Adedeji led the Western Lotto delegation.

The House had on March 18, 2020, resolved to intervene in the crisis. The resolution to settle the rift was based on a motion moved by the
Chairman House Committee on Inter-Governmental Affairs, Akin Alabi, who equally owns a sports betting company, NairaBet.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had gone after Premier Lotto based on a petition by Western Lotto, alleging crimes ranging from tax fraud to economic sabotage.

Western Lotto had also dragged the National Lottery Regulatory Commission and 24 lottery operators, including Premier Lotto, before a
Federal High Court over alleged infringement against its intellectual property rights to a gaming product known as ‘Ghana Games.’

In his submission, Chairman of the Nigerian Licensed Lottery Operators’ Forum, Chima Onwuka, stated that “the problem is not between Western Lotto and Premier Lotto, it is a problem between Western Lotto and Nigerian lottery operators.”

He also decried that the forum had been allegedly excluded from a negotiation between the NLRC and Western Lotto despite that the latter dragged all of them to court.

Onwuka partly said:

“While this (court case) was going on, we got wind of the terms of settlement between the NLRC and Western Lotto, excluding the 24 operators. We were not consulted; we were not informed about the terms of this settlement.

“In the case, Western Lotto is claiming N500bn against the operators. You are now doing an agreement with a nominal member (NLRC) in this case and the 24 operators you are claiming N500bn against are not even informed or consulted. That is why we wrote the petition to your honourable committee, to look into it.

“Our stand is simple: in the case that was filed in court, Western Lotto has not proven to us that it has the legally binding trademark
agreement with the national lottery authorities of Ghana. What it is moving around, which we have not seen, is an agreement with an agent of Ghana’s National Lottery Authority.

“On the Ghana games purportedly being played in Nigeria, Ghana does not pay any ‘staker’ in Nigeria and Ghana does not invest anything in it. In over 30 years, Ghana lottery authority has never paid a kobo to any winner in Nigeria.”

In his presentation, Tajudeen insisted that Western Lotto remains the sole franchisee of Ghana games in Nigeria.

He stated that the issue
was not about a rift between his form and Premier Lotto but “a rift between what is good and bad; best global practices and ‘business as
usual.’

He added:

“It is about fragrant disobedience to valid, subsisting and binding orders of court by some powerful Nigerians and corporate entities. Ordinarily, it should be described as a rift between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the recalcitrant lottery operators.

“By standard, once you have a game and that game belongs to you, there is no other operator that can actually make use of that game without consulting you as the owner of the game. If you try that, you are passing off on that particular game. We have got a franchise from
Ghana and that franchise is authentic; it is verifiable.”

The Director-General, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lanre Gbajabiamila, asked that the court be allowed to determine the matter brought before it. He also stated that the out-of-court settlement being proposed by Western Lotto must comply with all relevant laws guiding their operations.

Gbajabiamila said:

“The product being contested is the Ghana Games, where the plaintiff, Western Lotto, claimed to have acquired intellectually property rights from Ghana. The plaintiff claimed to be the sole franchisee of the Ghana Games in Nigeria and that no lottery operator has the right to promote the Ghana Games. The matter is still pending in court and has not been fully determined.”

Earlier, the committee’s Acting Chairman, Aliyu Mashi, in his opening remarks recalled that the House, on March 18, 2020, passed a resolution mandating the committee to mediate in the current rift between the operators of Premier Lotto and the Western Lotto on the ownership right to a particular game called ‘Ghana Games’ and report back accordingly.

He said:

“It is in this respect, the committee felt there is the need to invite all stakeholders, including the regulators of the industry, to a roundtable to see how the controversies can he settled amicably. It is my wish, therefore, that at the end of this deliberation, a workable solution can be achieved so that all players will work harmoniously towards achieving an optimum potential of the industry. Also, put in mind the huge amount of revenues in millions this government is losing due to this crisis.”