Kaduna govt shuts bet9ja, King Bet, others over tax matters

The Kaduna Internal Revenue Service (KADIRS) has shut down 13 gaming offices in its ongoing operation to close all unregistered gaming offices in the state.

Liye Anthony, Head of Gaming in the agency, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Sunday.

Mr Anthony said that the operation, which began on Thursday, had so far shut down five offices of bet9ja and King Bet respectively, two Access Bet offices and one office of Derby Lotto.

He said that there were about 1,500 gaming offices across the state operating illegally without due registration and license.

According to him, the exercise will continue until all the illegal gaming offices are shut down.

“We will continue to go after them until all the operators of the gaming companies regularised their operations and obtained the needed license to operate in the state,” he said.

The Executive Chairman of the agency, Zaid Abubakar, had told journalists that apart from operating illegally, the gaming companies were owing tax liabilities of close to N500 million.

Mr Abubakar explained that K.C. Gaming Networks, owner of bet9ja, was withholding tax of N325 million, Bet King N68 million and Access bet N33 million.

He said that the gaming companies were mopping about N2.0 billion monthly from the state and were not paying a kobo to the state government as tax.

He also said that the operators of the gaming companies were equally required by law to integrate their operations into the KADIRS Service Software, stressing that the companies failed to do so.

NAN reports that the Kaduna State Tax Codification and Consolidation Law, 2020, as amended, mandated gaming companies to register and obtain a license before operating in the state.

Section 86 of the law mandated that any gaming company wishing to operate in the state should, upon payment of nonrefundable N400,000 registration fee, apply in writing for an operating license.

Section 91 also imposed a 10 per cent tax on every stake money and winning amount which should be promptly deducted and remitted monthly to KADIRS by every licensed gaming company in the state.

(NAN)