Lagos Govt Slams National Assembly Over Central Gaming Bill, Cites Constitutional Breach and Supreme Court Ruling

The Lagos State Government has strongly criticized the National Assembly over its proposed Central Gaming Bill, 2025, describing the move as unconstitutional and a direct violation of an existing Supreme Court judgment.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Wednesday, the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN), condemned the bill as “a voyage of unconstitutionality.”

According to the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, the Central Gaming Bill, 2025 was presented for concurrence during Senate plenary on October 7, 2025. The bill aims to create a unified regulatory framework for online and remote gaming operations across Nigeria, replacing the repealed National Lottery Act of 2005.

However, Pedro reminded lawmakers that the Supreme Court, in November 2024, had nullified the National Lottery Act 2005, ruling that the National Assembly lacked the power to legislate on lotteries and gaming for states—except the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Supreme Court’s seven-member panel had unanimously held that only the FCT falls under the National Assembly’s jurisdiction in such matters.

Pedro stressed that the legislature cannot override a Supreme Court judgment without first amending the Constitution. “The National Assembly cannot enact a law regulating gaming and lottery across all states when the Constitution does not list such matters under the exclusive legislative powers of the federal government,” he said.

He added that any attempt to proceed with the proposed bill “would amount to legislating in defiance of a binding Supreme Court decision and could have grave constitutional implications.”

“As it stands today, the National Assembly can only make laws on lottery, gambling, and gaming for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,” Pedro emphasized.