Online sports betting operator 1xBet has been issued a Nigerian gaming license, despite ongoing uncertainties regarding the government’s attitudes towards the local gaming industry.

This week, 1xBet celebrated the news that Nigeria’s National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) had issued the company a National License, allowing 1xBet the right to offer sports and proposition wagering across all of Nigeria’s states and cities through the year 2024.

1xBet began life as a Russian gambling site but has since split into the domestic business and a Cyprus-based offshoot that caters to international markets. 1xBet has made Africa a primary target of its international expansion, with customer bases in Burundi, Cameroon, DR Congo, Ghana, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia.

Its license may have only come this week, but 1xBet already had a significant number of Nigerian clients, thanks in part to its sponsorship ties with the Nigerian Football Federation, the Nigerian Premier League and the Nigerian national team.