Lottery, not gambling, says Ilorin NLRC Zonal Coordinator
- Oyiza Ishaq
- Aug 3, 2015
- 2 min read
The Ilorin Zonal Coordinator, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Kwara State office, Mrs Kate Okocha, said contrary to insinuations in some quarters, lottery is not gambling but rather an act of raising money by selling numbered tickets and give prizes to holders of such numbers.
Okocha, who said a lot of people are discouraged to participate in the lottery due to religious beliefs, said there is nothing wrong in it as the winners are being selected at random.
The coordinator disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Pilot Business, last Thursday, shortly after a programme to mark the 10th year anniversary of the commission in Ilorin.
She explained that there are different categories of lottery in Nigeria as regulated by the commission such as Traditional Lottery, Promotional Lottery, Charitable Lottery, Sports Lottery, Online Lottery, SMS Lottery and concierge services respectively.
Okocha said all the enumerated lotteries are for the benefits of the citizens as well as improvement of the nation's economy.
The coordinator however enjoined Kwarans to endeavour to embrace the development, adding that several indigenes have benefitted and are still benefitting; for instance from promotions from banks and other companies.
As part of duties of the commission, she said it confirms and authenticate promotions and made sure every beneficiary gets their claims without being cheated.
The zonal coordinator noted that the commission is aware of impostors who attempted to defraud innocent citizens through lottery medium, especially telecommunications sectors, assuring that they are seriously working to curb the trend.
“If you notice, the situation is not rampant again unlike what it used to be. We have traced the cause of this problem and efforts are in top gear to eradicate it completely”, she said.
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