Africa

Nigeria adopts pioneering system to collect taxes directly and in ‘real time’ from online transactions

Published

7 months ago

October 31, 2022

Nigeria adopts pioneering system to collect taxes directly and in ‘real time’ from online transactions

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria (FIRS) has signed an agreement with UK based Fintech company E-Technologies Global Limited, to help it modernise its tax collection system for the digital age.

The project is the first of its kind where a pioneering approach to tax collection, enforcement and monitoring is being implemented as a managed service through E-Tech’s Sentinal National Payment Gateway. Sentinal is a unique transaction processing system that instructs integrated payment service providers to deduct taxes or charges at the point of transaction and remits funds in real-time to Governments’ Treasury accounts.

The project with Nigeria starts with the launch of a new initiative by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission of Nigeria to attract ‘Tier 1’ offshore global gaming operators to apply for a five year Permit to offer all gaming and sports-betting services to Nigerian players. Operators must comply with full risk-based AML screening and pass the ‘fit and proper’ test to demonstrate responsible gaming practices before being granted a Remote Operator Permit.

All approved operators will then connect to Sentinal where gaming duty will be deducted from player deposits and remitted directly to the Government in real-time. The Permit has the advantage of allowing global operators to legitimately offer online gaming services to Nigerian players without the need to incorporate locally in-country and is subject to their continuing compliance with the Permit Terms and Conditions.

Mohammad Nami, Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria, said: “The world is entering a challenging time where there is a strong obligation on Governments to increase tax revenue as a percentage of GDP so as to provide much needed funding for local infrastructure and public services. Nigeria needs to innovate and harness technology to ensure that online transactions are taxed and accounted for.

“We have been very impressed with the Sentinal System which allows us to not only collect tax revenues at source, but also provides us with tax reporting and monitoring tools in real-time. The system will integrate with our own TaxPro Max portal.”

Lanre Gbajabiamila, Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission of Nigeria, added: “Online gaming continues to grow rapidly in Nigeria, particularly on mobile, and the adoption of E-Technologies’ Sentinal National Payment Gateway is a huge step to allow us to capture gaming duty at source.

“We are welcoming all responsible offshore gaming operators to apply for a Remote Operator Permit as long as they pass all the relevant criteria including full AML screening and responsible gaming practices. We are proud to be the first country to adopt the Sentinal System and we believe it will bring a real national benefit to Nigeria.”

David Kicks, CEO of E-Technologies Global Limited, said: “Governments in rapidly developing nations are struggling to keep pace with the evolution of eCommerce and the ascent of mobile transactions. E-Technologies was created specifically to address this issue and we have built an incredibly strong team with unrivalled expertise across fintech, eCommerce and iGaming.

“We are thrilled that the Nigerian Government has made the decision to integrate our Sentinal System, empowering them to streamline online taxation. By understanding better how the payments ecosystem behaves and evolves, we can drive a paradigm shift towards a point of consumption tax methodology.

“This landmark deal will herald a new era in rapidly opening new regulated markets for responsible gaming operators, as grey market operating becomes increasingly problematic.”

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Africa

IPO Bound Yudiz Solutions Limited gets DRHP Nod

Published

5 days ago

May 25, 2023

Alan Campbell

Reading Time: 2 minutes

IPO-bound Yudiz Solutions Limited, a blockchain, AI and gaming-focused enterprise technology company has received an NSE approval for an SME IPO. With this approval, the company is set to invest approximately 80 million INR to set up a gaming studio and a multi-gaming platform. The game studio will aim to produce over 40 games in a year.

Yudiz Solutions Limited, which is already known to develop apps, will now be the first game developers to be publicly listed and have its own publishing platform.

* The DRHP approval makes it the first game developers in India to be publicly listed

* The gaming studio will aim to produce over 40 games annually

* Will be the first game developers to be publicly listed

The new Yudiz Solutions Limited game studio will focus on creating high-quality games for multiple platforms. These games will leverage Yudiz Solutions Limited’s cutting-edge technology solutions and in-house expertise to design and develop the games. They will also develop games for other publishers and will also allow other developers to publish games on their new publishing platform. This will be the only gaming company to develop and publish their own and others’ games as well.

“The new business ventures will enable sectoral growth, provide us with the necessary resources to drive innovation, expand our game portfolio, elevate the gaming experience and develop gamer communities,” the Chairman and Director for Yudiz Solutions Limited, Bharat Patel, said. “It will also enable us to forge strategic partnerships, attract top talent and cement our position as strong contenders in the space.”

With an EBITDA of 21.77% for FY 22-23 and a CAGR of 42.34% for the past three years, Yudiz Solutions Limited also had a PAT of INR 2.75 CR in FY 22-23. With the recently approved DRHP the company will offload a public issue consisting of a fresh 27,17,600 equity shares.

Yudiz Solutions Limited is headquartered in Ahmedabad and recognized as a global IT service providing solutions in AI/ML, AR/VR and IoT as well as blockchain, mobile app and web development across North America, Europe and Asia. Yudiz Solutions Limited is set to disrupt the market with its innovative solutions and products. MPL, Zydus, RR Kabel, IRM Energy, SportsBuzz are some of its clients.

Africa

KingMakers goes live with EveryMatrix CasinoEngine

Published

5 days ago

May 25, 2023

George Miller

KingMakers goes live with EveryMatrix CasinoEngine

Reading Time: < 1 minute

KingMakers’ betting brand BetKing, has gone live with CasinoEngine, giving Nigerian players access to the industry’s largest casino content library through a single integration.

EveryMatrix’s iGaming platform will aim to significantly grow BetKing into a world-class, multi vertical, digital entertainment experience with access to an ever-growing portfolio of thousands of best performing games.

BetKing will also integrate JackpotEngine and BonusEngine to further boost the gaming experience through flexible and configurable jackpot customisation and a variety of industry-leading player reward and bonus management features.

Nigeria’s total onshore online betting and gaming gross win for 2023 is estimated to be €560 million, according to H2 Gambling Capital, with the onshore market predicted to double in three years.

Stian Enger, Head of CasinoEngine, EveryMatrix, said: “The sky’s the limit in terms of potential for BetKing and we’re very excited to go live and accelerate the brand’s casino growth in the months and years to come.

“The brand has leading sports betting market share and I’m confident that in a short space of time the same will be said for casino thanks to the power of CasinoEngine and its best-in-class acquisition and retention capabilities.”

Lauren Holder, Head of Gaming at KingMakers, said: “From signing the deal six months ago to go live has been a very smooth process and it’s been a pleasure working with our partners at EveryMatrix.

“The Nigerian and wider iGaming African market is an area we believe has huge promise and, together with EveryMatrix’s leading productivity platform and the wide variety of flexible content options and revenue boosting functionality it offers, we believe the opportunities are endless.”

Africa

IAGR Opens Registrations for 2023 Conference in Botswana

Published

1 week ago

May 22, 2023

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The International Association of Gaming Regulator (IAGR) has opened registrations for its annual conference, taking place in Gaborone, Botswana, from 16 to 19 October.

With the theme “Bringing ideas together: The exchange of excellence and innovation in regulatory practice,” this year’s event is hosted by the Botswana Gambling Authority.

“IAGR 2023 is a four-day event for IAGR members and industry thought leaders, bringing together regulators, industry leaders, and experts to share ideas and shape the future of gaming regulation worldwide,” Jason Lane, President of IAGR, said.

The conference follows last year’s sell-out event in Melbourne, Australia.

“We are honoured to host IAGR 2023 in Botswana and look forward to welcoming our global peers from around the world to our beautiful country,” Peter Kesitilwe, CEO of the Botswana Gambling Authority, said.

“We’re committed to ensuring that all participants have a rewarding and memorable experience.”

IAGR has announced two speakers and topics for the conference, with more to follow in the coming weeks.

Earle G. Hall – Chairman, International Gaming Standards Association & CEO, AXES.ai: “Artificial intelligence will transform our industry”
Andrew Rhodes – CEO, United Kingdom Gambling Commission: “Impact of the Gambling Act Review”

Early-bird pricing is available until 15 June.