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High Stakes and Holy Laws: Nigeria’s Sports Betting Industry at a Turning Point

Meet CEOs/MDs of companies behind Nigeria’s $2 billion Sports betting market.

Gaming has actually progressed considerably in Nigeria from standard types like pool staking and Baba Ijebu to a flourishing sports betting industry. Historically connected to European football leagues, sports betting swimming pool staking was a typical sight at motor parks and kiosks, where lovers would wager just N50-N200 on matches.

Gradually, with increased web access came virtual wagering, which parallels international trends. The sports betting market is valued at $89.91 billion in 2023 and sports betting is projected to nearly double to $182.02 billion by 2030.

Despite financial difficulties such as inflation, Nigeria’s sports betting sector has thrived, attracting millions, sports betting specifically among the younger group facing high unemployment rates.

Reports indicate that roughly 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively participate in sports betting wagering, driving an industry that generates a projected annual revenue of N730 billion. The federal government has not gone undetected by this growth, which is thinking about regulatory steps like excise tasks and VAT boosts to manage the sector.

The National Lottery Act of 2005 recognized regulative bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to ensure fair operations despite challenges in enforcement. Concerns such as inadequate age confirmation and marketing guideline breaches show industry regulative gaps.

In spite of these obstacles, sports betting companies continue to flourish through reliable service designs and aggressive marketing techniques, leveraging the creator influencer market.

These efforts have contributed to Nigeria’s robust $2 billion gaming sector, sports betting with CEOs playing important functions in broadening audience reach and driving market growth. Here are the CEOs of leading sports betting wagering companies who have actually considerably contributed to Nigeria’s $2 billion gambling empire through their substantial audience reach.

Constable Olaniyan – CEO Surebet247

Constable Olaniyan is the CEO of Surebet247, sports betting a sports betting book business he co-founded with Badmos Olasupo in 2011. His varied profession spans numerous functions in the gaming and entertainment industry, sports betting consisting of working at one of the United Kingdom’s biggest gaming centres, The Palace Bingo Club, where he worked as the Lead Engineer in a Bingo and Bowling Club.

Olaniyan holds a BSc in Geography from the University of Ilorin and sports betting a Master’s in Geographical Information Systems from the University of Glamorgan, Wales. Surebet247, founded in August 2011, has grown into a leading e-commerce business in the sports betting and video gaming sector, operating through online, mobile, and retail channels. The business was incorporated in Nigeria on November 7, 2006, and sports betting has actually given that broadened its presence, attaining over 5,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

Sam Sadi – CEO Livescorebet

Sam Sadi has over 25 years of experience in wagering brand names and sports betting media. In 2019, he became the CEO of LiveScore Group, a fully integrated ecosystem that combines appropriate sports betting material, engaging functions, and a world-class sportsbook.

Since taking the helm right before the pandemic, Sam has actually driven substantial growth for LiveScore Group. The company’s worker headcount has increased by 29%, and yearly profits has risen from around ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.

Sam’s leadership and strategic vision have propelled LiveScore Group’s success and helped shape the market’s instructions. LiveScoreBet has accomplished significant user engagement, with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

Anthony Werkman – CEO of Betway Group

Anthony Werkman was designated CEO of Betway in November 2017, having formerly functioned as the company’s Marketing and sports betting Operations Director given that 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and has remained in the online gaming market since 2000, holding numerous effective roles, consisting of General Manager of a data analytics group and Director of a digital marketing company.

Under Werkman’s management, Betway has continued to grow its market existence and improve its offerings. The company’s app has actually amassed substantial user engagement, with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

Damilare Alabi, Co-Founder, Managing Director NairaBET

Damilare Alabi has actually distinguished herself as a senior executive with a performance history of transforming start-ups into institutionalized companies. Her proficiency spans the video gaming, realty, and credit financing industries, where he has developed himself as a tactical and operational leader.

Damilare has contributed in NairaBET’s success for over 14 years. Since June 2019, she has served as Managing Director and sports betting has overseen the company’s development and operations in Lagos, Nigeria.

Before this, she was the Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to June 2019, critical in the company’s operational techniques and market expansion.

She founded DearDammy Women’s Initiative (DDWIN), a non-profit organization empowering women-owned organizations. DDWIN provides frHer academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Geology/Earth Science from the University of Ibadan, finished in 2005.

Akin Alabi, the founder of NairaBET.com, Nigeria’s pioneering sports betting bookmaking business, established the business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the first sports betting platform in Nigeria, sports betting it was the very first to introduce 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 global sports betting business based in Cyprus. 1XBET, founded in 2007 by the late Sergey Karshkov, has actually developed itself as one of the biggest bookies in Europe and sports betting the world. The business runs in more than 50 nations, including Nigeria, where it is totally accredited.

Under Babalola’s management, 1XBET Nigeria has expanded its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting market, using a vast array of sports betting alternatives and an user-friendly platform. The 1XBET app has over 500,000 downloads on the Play Store.

Gossy Ukanwoke – CEO of Betking Nigeria

Gossy Ukanwoke is the CEO of BetKing, Managing Director sports betting of KingMakers, and Chairman of Vend Capital. In addition to leading these endeavors, Ukanwoke has teamed up with African socio-economic institutions and governments to design developmental policies aimed at empowering youths. In 2015, Ernst & & Young honoured him as the Winner of the Accelerating Category– World Entrepreneur of the Year.

BetKing, established and introduced in Nigeria on February 22, 2018, by Byron Petzer and Adekunle Adeniji, runs under the trademark name of Lake Ventures Ltd. This pan-African sports betting and entertainment business has actually rapidly grown its presence in Nigeria, with outlets in major cities and over 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

In 2020, BetKing entered into a partnership with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, producing over 100,000 tasks, the number of which is increasing every year. In the very same year, MultiChoice broadcaster purchased 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, bulk shareholder, and joint Chief Executive of Bet365, an online gaming business she developed in 2000. Bet365.com was launched in 2001 as an online wagering website and has actually since become among the world’s biggest online sports betting companies.

By 2016, Bet365 produced $2 billion in incomes and assisted in $45 billion in annual bets. The company likewise holds a bulk stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has amassed significant 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 company in Nigeria, established together 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 generates investment returns and offers unique investment insights and services to both individual and institutional customers.

Founded in 2012 under KC Gaming Networks, Bet9ja has rapidly grown in appeal, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store. Under Ojuroye’s leadership, Bet9ja has ended up being a substantial gamer in the Nigerian sports betting industry.

Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet

Fikayo Ogunfuye is a skilled expert in the sports betting wagering industry. He has been serving as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria given that June 2021. In this function, he has contributed to the company’s development through collaborations, company technique, and brand-new service advancement.

Fikayo’s experience consists of roles such as Chief Operations Officer (West Africa) at 22BET, where he managed product advancement and customer experience, and Country Manager at 22BET, sports betting focusing on marketing strategy and budget plan management. Before 22BET, he led marketing efforts at LuckyBet.NG and held various digital marketing functions at Laclic Services and Betty Bingo.

His profession started at Jumia Group, where he worked in SEO, CRM, and content management. Fikayo also served 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, Benin Republic.

22Bet is an online gaming platform that offers sports betting wagering, gambling establishment games, and live dealer games. It was launched in 2017 and is owned and run by Marikit Holdings Ltd, a company registered in Cyprus and a subsidiary of Orakum N.V.. They are likewise the owners of Betwinner and a chain of gambling establishments worldwide.

Sudeep Ramnani– CEO Sportybet Group

Sudeep Ramnani is the Founder and CEO of SportyBet, a business he established in 2013.

SportyBet is a worldwide sports betting and sports betting real-money gaming operator known for providing an omni-channel home entertainment experience in regulated emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s leadership, SportyBet has actually become a considerable player in the market, sports betting with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store.

In addition to his role at SportyBet, sports betting Sudeep is an active financier in fintech and mobile payments and a strong advocate for the growing African internet community. His investments show his dedication to cultivating innovation and advancement within the region.

On April 30, sports betting 2024, Sudeep Ramnani bought Chowdeck, taking part in a seed round valued at $2.5 million.

The firm is set to disrupt the sports betting industry.

Sunbet Sporting International Limited has said it is concentrated on revolutionising how millions of Africans engage with sports betting. In a market worth over $1.5 billion annual, with double-digit development projection in the coming years, according to reports from the sports betting Association and PwC, the firm intends to take advantage of cutting-edge innovation and sports betting a dedication to accountable gaming to change the sector.

Backed by the monetary power of 4 prominent African billionaires, Sunbet, which will introduce in the first quarter of 2025, aims to be the continent’s largest and most ingenious sports betting wagering platform.

At a press rundown, the business’s spokesperson, sports betting Akin Babatunde, stated that the rise in Internet penetration, mobile use, and the continent’s deep enthusiasm for sports betting, particularly football, has set the stage for sports betting Sunbet’s enthusiastic entry. He included that the company’s robust sponsorship and professional group will enable it to scale and dominate the market rapidly.

Islamic cops raid wagering stores in northern Nigeria

Islamic authorities in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have started shutting down sports betting shops, which they state are operating unlawfully.

“As you know, wagering is prohibited in Islam,” Mujahid Aminudeen, deputy chief of the Sharia police force, called the Hisbah, told the BBC.

Complaints from community leaders and sports betting parents triggered the crackdown, sports betting fretted about the growing number of sports betting addicts, he stated.

On the first day of raids, 30 stores were closed in one residential area alone, and their owners were sent home with a caution, the Sharia officer stated.

However Mr Aminudeen warned that now that the public was aware that the Hisbah was clamping down on gambling, those flouting the rules would be jailed.

Kano city is the capital of Kano state, which has a bulk Muslim population and runs the Islamic legal system – Sharia – together with secular law.

Bookies and bars tend to be permitted to run in Kano’s Christian areas, though they too can deal with action if the Hisbah believes Muslims are frequenting them.

However, the present crackdown is focused on Muslim locations of Kano, a vast city and the economic center of northern Nigeria.

sports betting wagering shops can be discovered all over the city. Many have tv screens, and consumers enjoy the result of worldwide football matches or horse races on which they have staked money.

Mr Aminudeen stated such bookies had actually been able to operate under the radar as they had actually opened under false pretences.

“They don’t have licences to run as they were allowed to run computer game centres, which they later on converted to sports betting stores,” he said.

The sports betting wagering industry has actually expanded drastically across West Africa in the last few years. The region is roughly divided in between a generally Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south.

Many people go to bookies to enjoy the sociability of other bettors, though mobile apps are also popular for sports betting on the outcome of occasions and teams.

Nigeria’s debilitating economic crisis has likewise meant individuals are willing to risk a percentage in the hope of winning huge.

But this had led to widespread addiction, and moms and dads were even grumbling that kids were leaving of school to bet, Mr Aminudeen stated.

“These economic concerns we are facing in Nigeria is God telling us to change our methods by stopping sins,” he stated.

The raids on Tuesday focused on Munjibir, thought about a resort area in the northeast of the city– visitors flock there at weekends.

“I am recommending those running those wagering stores to either shut down or we’ll arrest them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen said.

It is unclear what penalty they would deal with – typically, such violations bring a fine.

Sharia was presented in Kano in 2000 – as it remained in 11 other Muslim-majority northern states – and prostitution, gaming and the usage of alcohol were prohibited.