Yahaya Maikori: Nigeria’s Global Gaming Lawyer

Nseobong Okon-Ekong

A man who may be said to know what he wants out of life, Mr. Yahaya Maikori has taken deliberate and calculated steps to be where he wants to be. He could have excelled in any sector of law practice, but he chose entertainment and sports, following his mind and the promising future that only a visionary leader like him could see. After establishing his firm, Law Allianz, he teamed up with his younger brother, Audu Maikori and another partner, Mr. Paul Okeugo, to cofound Chocolate City, a record label. This immediately authenticated his reputation in copyright law and intellectual property.

When he discovered gaming, he wasted no time immersing himself in it completely by becoming cofounder and founder of the Global Gaming Company Limited, the holding company for 360 Bet, the African Poker Tournament, Anambra Lotto and Kajola Lotto. GGCL is advertised as

Africa’s most diversified gaming company with interests in casinos, sports betting, lottery, poker and general legal and regulatory gaming consultancy. The company is the exclusive partner for ‘i gaming academy’, Clarion Events ( Owners of ICE, WRB, ICE Africa, EIG) for Africa. 

Maikori was one of the lead speakers at the Betting and iGaming BIG Africa Summit and Exhibition in 2014. He is one of the few Nigerian lawyers registered to practice law in New York and the UK. Maikori has an active business background in the gambling, gaming, tech, software development, sports, entertainment, media and e-commerce industries. 

Among gaming industry-related offices he has supervised or currently oversees are president of the Association of Casino Operators of Nigeria, chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (Section on Business Law) Entertainment, Media and Sports Committee and chairman of the Sports Industry Thematic Group. He is also active as a trustee of the Organisations of Blockchain Users Group, chairman of Esports Caretaker Committee Nigeria, president of International Masters in Gaming Law and member of the Committee for Restructuring the Legal and Regulatory Framework of Nigeria Lottery Regulatory Commission.