Hisbah to resume clapdown on betting shops following court ruling

Islamic morality police in Kano, northern Nigeria, are set to resume their crackdown on betting shops following a Supreme Court ruling on gambling. 

The court overturned the 2005 law that established a national lottery commission and legalized sports betting and gambling, stating that regulation of gambling falls under the jurisdiction of state governments.

Kano State, one of 12 predominantly Muslim states in Nigeria where Islamic Sharia law operates alongside federal law, has long prohibited gambling. “We will resume our clampdown on betting shops with renewed determination since betting is illegal under Kano state sharia law,” said Abba Sufi, director general of the Kano Hisbah, a unit responsible for enforcing Sharia law in the state.

Last month, Hisbah operatives raided and shut down dozens of football betting shops across the city, claiming they promoted gambling, which is prohibited under Sharia law. However, the raids were halted after the National Lottery Commission argued that the 2005 Lottery Act made football betting legal under federal law, according to Sufi.

“With this verdict, the controversy on who should be in charge of lottery legislation between the federal government and state governments has been settled,” Sufi added. “We in Kano have frowned at the lottery law… because it gave legal backing to gambling which is clearly prohibited in Islam.”

Kano is home to around 200 betting shops where customers watch international soccer matches and horse races while placing bets, said Sydney Emeafu, head of the National Union of Gaming and Lottery Workers (NUGLOW) in Kano.

Sufi highlighted that the raids were prompted by complaints from parents concerned about children who had become involved in gambling through their love of football. “And the harsh economic climate is pushing more people into this football gambling, hoping to make easy money and becoming hooked to the vice,” he said.