Power Players and Religious Police: The Future of Sports Betting in Nigeria
Meet CEOs/MDs of companies behind Nigeria’s $2 billion Sports wagering market.
Gaming has progressed considerably in Nigeria from conventional forms like pool staking and Baba Ijebu to a successful sports betting market. Historically connected to European football leagues, pool staking was a common sight at motor parks and kiosks, where enthusiasts would bet just N50-N200 on matches.
Slowly, with increased web access came virtual wagering, which parallels global patterns. The sports betting wagering market is valued at $89.91 billion in 2023 and is forecasted to nearly double to $182.02 billion by 2030.
In spite of financial challenges such as inflation, Nigeria’s sports betting wagering sector has actually flourished, sports betting attracting millions, especially amongst the youthful market dealing with high unemployment rates.
Reports show that roughly 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively engage in sports betting, driving an industry that produces a projected yearly income of N730 billion. The federal government has not gone undetected by this development, which is considering regulative procedures like excise responsibilities and VAT increases to handle the sector.
The National Lottery Act of 2005 recognized regulative bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to ensure reasonable operations regardless of challenges in enforcement. Concerns such as insufficient age confirmation and advertising guideline breaches reveal industry regulatory spaces.
Regardless of these difficulties, sports betting wagering companies continue to grow through efficient company models and aggressive marketing methods, sports betting leveraging the creator influencer industry.
These efforts have added to Nigeria’s robust $2 billion sports betting sector, sports betting with CEOs playing important functions in broadening audience reach and driving industry growth. Here are the CEOs of leading sports betting wagering business who have actually considerably contributed to Nigeria’s $2 billion sports betting empire through their substantial audience reach.
Constable Olaniyan – CEO Surebet247
Constable Olaniyan is the CEO of Surebet247, a sports betting book business he co-founded with Badmos Olasupo in 2011. His diverse profession spans various functions in the and show business, consisting of working at one of the United Kingdom’s biggest gaming centres, The Palace Bingo Club, where he acted as the Lead Engineer in a Bingo and sports betting Bowling Club.
Olaniyan holds a BSc in Geography from the University of Ilorin and a Master’s in Geographical Information Systems from the University of Glamorgan, Wales. Surebet247, founded in August 2011, has actually turned into a leading e-commerce service in the wagering and gaming sector, running through online, mobile, and retail channels. The company was included in Nigeria on November 7, 2006, and has actually since broadened its existence, achieving over 5,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.
Sam Sadi – CEO Livescorebet
Sam Sadi has over 25 years of experience in wagering brand sports betting names and sports betting media. In 2019, he ended up being the CEO of LiveScore Group, a fully incorporated community that combines pertinent sports betting material, engaging functions, and a world-class sportsbook.
Considering that taking the helm just before the pandemic, Sam has actually driven considerable development for LiveScore Group. The company’s employee headcount has increased by 29%, and annual earnings has actually risen from roughly ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.
Sam’s leadership and tactical vision have actually moved LiveScore Group’s success and assisted form the industry’s direction. LiveScoreBet has attained significant user engagement, with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.
Anthony Werkman – CEO of Betway Group
Anthony Werkman was appointed CEO of Betway in November 2017, sports betting having actually previously served as the company’s Marketing and Operations Director considering that 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and has been in the online video gaming market considering that 2000, holding different successful functions, including General Manager of an information analytics group and Director of a digital marketing company.
Under Werkman’s management, Betway has actually continued to grow its market existence and boost its offerings. The business’s app has amassed substantial user engagement, sports betting with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.
Damilare Alabi, Co-Founder, Managing Director NairaBET
Damilare Alabi has differentiated herself as a senior executive with a track record of changing start-ups into institutionalized companies. Her know-how covers the gaming, realty, sports betting and credit financing industries, sports betting where he has established himself as a tactical and operational leader.
Damilare has been instrumental in NairaBET’s success for over 14 years. Considering that June 2019, she has actually worked as Managing Director and has actually overseen the business’s development and operations in Lagos, sports betting Nigeria.
Before this, she was the Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to June 2019, essential in the business’s functional strategies and sports betting market growth.
She founded DearDammy Women’s Initiative (DDWIN), a non-profit organization empowering women-owned services. DDWIN offers frHer instructional background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Geology/Earth Science from the University of Ibadan, completed in 2005.
Akin Alabi, the creator of NairaBET.com, Nigeria’s pioneering sports betting bookmaking business, sports betting established the business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the very first sports betting wagering platform in Nigeria, it was the very first to release a totally practical website, setting a criteria in the industry.
Femi Babalola- General Manager of 1Xbet Nigeria Limited
Femi Babalola is the Managing Director of 1XBET Nigeria Limited, a franchise of the worldwide sports betting wagering business based in Cyprus. 1XBET, founded in 2007 by the late Sergey Karshkov, has actually established itself as one of the largest bookies in Europe and the world. The company operates in more than 50 nations, including Nigeria, where it is fully accredited.
Under Babalola’s management, 1XBET Nigeria has actually broadened its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting wagering market, providing a large range of wagering alternatives and an easy to use platform. The 1XBET app has more than 500,000 downloads on the Play Store.
Gossy Ukanwoke – CEO of Betking Nigeria
Gossy Ukanwoke is the CEO of BetKing, Managing Director of KingMakers, and Chairman of Vend Capital. In addition to leading these endeavors, Ukanwoke has worked together with African socio-economic organizations and federal governments to design developmental policies targeted at empowering young people. In 2015, Ernst & & Young honoured him as the Winner of the Accelerating Category– World Entrepreneur of the Year.
BetKing, sports betting established and released in Nigeria on February 22, 2018, sports betting by Byron Petzer and Adekunle Adeniji, operates under the brand name of Lake Ventures Ltd. This pan-African sports betting and home entertainment company has quickly grown its existence in Nigeria, with outlets in significant cities and over 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.
In 2020, BetKing entered into a collaboration with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, producing over 100,000 jobs, the number of which is increasing annually. In the same year, MultiChoice broadcaster bought a 20% stake in BetKing, which was increased to 49% in 2021.
Denise Coates – CEO Bet 365
Denise Coates is a British billionaire businesswoman, the creator, majority shareholder, and joint Chief Executive of Bet365, an online sports betting business she established in 2000. Bet365.com was launched in 2001 as an online wagering site and has actually since grown into one of the world’s largest online gaming companies.
By 2016, Bet365 generated $2 billion in revenues and facilitated $45 billion in yearly bets. The company likewise holds a bulk stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has garnered considerable user engagement, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store.
Ayo Ojuroye – CEO/Cofounder Bet9ja
Ayo Ojuroye is the CEO and co-founder of Bet9ja, a leading sports betting wagering business in Nigeria, developed along with businessman Kunle Soname, who also owns Portuguese club CD Feirense and Nigerian club Remo Stars.
Ojuroye is likewise the Chairman of Mango Asset Management, an independent Nigerian asset management company that creates investment returns and uses unique financial investment insights and solutions to both specific and institutional clients.
Founded in 2012 under KC Gaming Networks, sports betting Bet9ja has quickly grown in popularity, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store. Under Ojuroye’s leadership, Bet9ja has actually ended up being a substantial player in the Nigerian sports betting market.
Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet
Fikayo Ogunfuye is a skilled expert in the sports betting wagering market. He has been acting as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria since June 2021. In this function, he has contributed to the business’s development through collaborations, organization strategy, and brand-new organization development.
Fikayo’s experience consists of functions such as Chief Operations Officer (West Africa) at 22BET, where he managed item advancement and client experience, and Country Manager at 22BET, sports betting concentrating on marketing technique and budget plan management. Before 22BET, he led marketing efforts at LuckyBet.NG and held different digital marketing roles at Laclic Services and Betty Bingo.
His career started at Jumia Group, where he worked in SEO, CRM, sports betting and sports betting content management. Fikayo likewise acted as a Human Resource Officer at SIFAX Group.
He holds a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) in Management and Accounting from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology and a Master of Science (MS) in Business Administration, Management, and Operations from ESTG University in Cotonou, sports betting Benin Republic.
22Bet is an online gambling platform that provides sports betting wagering, casino games, and live dealership games. It was released in 2017 and is owned and sports betting run by Marikit Holdings Ltd, sports betting a company signed up in Cyprus and a subsidiary of Orakum N.V.. They are also the owners of Betwinner and a chain of casinos worldwide.
Sudeep Ramnani– CEO Sportybet Group
Sudeep Ramnani is the Founder and CEO of SportyBet, a company he established in 2013.
SportyBet is a global sports betting wagering and real-money gaming operator understood for sports betting providing an omni-channel entertainment experience in controlled emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s leadership, SportyBet has actually ended up being a considerable gamer in the industry, sports betting with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store.
In addition to his function at SportyBet, sports betting Sudeep is an active investor in fintech and sports betting mobile payments and sports betting a strong supporter for the growing African internet environment. His financial investments show his commitment to cultivating development and development within the region.
On April 30, 2024, Sudeep Ramnani purchased Chowdeck, sports betting taking part in a seed round valued at $2.5 million.
The company is set to interfere with the sports wagering industry.
Sunbet Sporting International Limited has said it is focused on revolutionising how millions of Africans engage with sports betting. In an industry worth over $1.5 billion annual, sports betting with double-digit development projection in the coming years, sports betting according to reports from the African Sports Betting Association and PwC, the company aims to take advantage of innovative innovation and a commitment to responsible gambling to change the sector.
Backed by the financial power of four prominent African billionaires, sports betting Sunbet, which will launch in the first quarter of 2025, aims to be the continent’s biggest and most ingenious sports betting wagering platform.
At a press instruction, sports betting the company’s representative, Akin Babatunde, stated that the increase in Internet penetration, mobile use, and the continent’s deep passion for sports betting, especially football, has set the stage for Sunbet’s enthusiastic entry. He included that the firm’s robust sponsorship and sports betting professional team will enable it to scale and control the marketplace rapidly.
Islamic police raid betting stores in northern Nigeria
Islamic cops in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have begun shutting down sports betting stores, which they say are operating unlawfully.
“As you know, sports betting is forbidden in Islam,” Mujahid Aminudeen, deputy chief of the Sharia police force, known as the Hisbah, informed the BBC.
Problems from neighborhood leaders and parents triggered the crackdown, fretted about the growing variety of sports betting addicts, he stated.
On the first day of raids, 30 stores were closed in one suburban area alone, and their owners were sent home with a caution, sports betting the Sharia officer said.
However Mr Aminudeen alerted that now that the public knew that the Hisbah was clamping down on sports betting, those flouting the rules would be arrested.
Kano city is the capital of Kano state, which has a majority Muslim population and runs the Islamic legal system – Sharia – alongside nonreligious law.
Bookies and sports betting bars tend to be enabled to run in Kano’s Christian neighbourhoods, though they too can face action if the Hisbah thinks Muslims are frequenting them.
However, the current crackdown is focused on Muslim locations of Kano, a vast city and the economic center of northern Nigeria.
sports betting wagering shops can be found all over the city. A lot of have television screens, and customers see the outcome of international football matches or horse races on which they have actually staked money.
Mr Aminudeen stated such bookies had had the ability to operate under the radar as they had opened under false pretenses.
“They don’t have licences to run as they were permitted to run video games centres, which they later on transformed to sports betting stores,” he stated.
The sports betting industry has actually broadened considerably across West Africa in the last few years. The region is roughly divided in between a mainly Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south.
Lots of people go to bookies to take pleasure in the friendship of other gamblers, though mobile apps are also popular for wagering on the result of events and teams.
Nigeria’s debilitating economic crisis has actually likewise indicated people are willing to risk a percentage in the hope of winning big.
But this had resulted in extensive dependency, and parents were even grumbling that kids were leaving of school to bet, Mr Aminudeen stated.
“These economic issues we are facing in Nigeria is God informing us to alter our methods by stopping sins,” he said.
The raids on Tuesday focused on Munjibir, considered a resort area in the northeast of the city– visitors flock there at weekends.
“I am recommending those running those wagering shops to either shut down or we’ll apprehend them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen said.
It is uncertain what penalty they would deal with – often, such violations bring a fine.
Sharia was introduced in Kano in 2000 – as it was in 11 other Muslim-majority northern states – and prostitution, sports betting gambling and the consumption of alcohol were banned.
