Nigeria is threatening to shut down its leading gambling operator Bet9ja unless the company accepts the government’s ‘invitation’ to discuss their betting license.

This week, Obinna Ogba, chairman of Nigeria’s Senate Committee on Youth and Sports, suggested that the National Assembly take whatever action necessary to compel Bet9ja – 50% owned by Italian gambling operator Goldbet – to appear before the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to verify the company’s license.

The Commission had summoned the nation’s betting licensees, and local media reported that around 20 operators had participated in the verification exercise. For reasons that are yet unclear, Bet9ja, Nigeria’s dominant land-based and online betting operator with an estimated 60% of the local market, had yet to respond to the government’s invitation.

On Tuesday, local media quoted Ogba declaring that “we want to see Bet9ja. They can’t run away.” Ogba (pictured) instructed government officers to issue a final summons to Bet9ja, and if the company failed to appear, “we will ask the National Lottery Commission to seal [Bet9ja’s] offices.”