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

Meet CEOs/MDs of business behind Nigeria’s $2 billion Sports wagering market.

Gaming has actually evolved considerably in Nigeria from standard forms like pool staking and Baba Ijebu to a thriving sports betting market. Historically tied to European football leagues, pool staking was a common sight at motor parks and sports betting kiosks, where lovers would bet just N50-N200 on matches.

Gradually, sports betting with increased internet access came virtual sports betting, sports betting which parallels worldwide patterns. The sports betting market is valued at $89.91 billion in 2023 and sports betting is forecasted to nearly double to $182.02 billion by 2030.

Despite financial challenges such as inflation, Nigeria’s sports betting sector has actually grown, bring in millions, particularly among the vibrant market dealing with high unemployment rates.

Reports show that approximately 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively take part in sports betting, driving a market that creates an approximated yearly profits of N730 billion. The federal government has not gone undetected by this growth, which is thinking about regulative measures like excise responsibilities and VAT increases to handle the sector.

The National Lottery Act of 2005 established regulatory bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to make sure fair operations in spite of difficulties in enforcement. Problems such as insufficient age confirmation and marketing rule breaches show industry regulatory spaces.

In spite of these difficulties, sports betting companies continue to flourish through efficient organization designs and sports betting aggressive marketing techniques, sports betting leveraging the creator influencer market.

These efforts have added to Nigeria’s robust $2 billion sports betting sector, with CEOs playing crucial roles in broadening audience reach and driving industry development. Here are the CEOs of leading sports betting wagering companies who have actually considerably contributed to Nigeria’s $2 billion gaming empire through their extensive audience reach.

Sheriff Olaniyan – CEO Surebet247

Sheriff Olaniyan is the CEO of Surebet247, sports betting a sports betting book company he co-founded with Badmos Olasupo in 2011. His diverse career spans different roles in the video gaming and entertainment industry, consisting of operating at among the United Kingdom’s largest gaming centres, The Palace Bingo Club, where he functioned 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, sports betting Wales. Surebet247, founded in August 2011, has become a leading e-commerce service in the wagering and video gaming sector, running through online, mobile, and retail channels. The business was integrated in Nigeria on November 7, sports betting 2006, and has actually given that broadened its existence, 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 completely incorporated community that combines pertinent sports betting material, engaging features, sports betting and a world-class sportsbook.

Since taking the helm right before the pandemic, Sam has actually driven significant development for LiveScore Group. The business’s worker headcount has increased by 29%, and annual revenue has actually surged from around ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.

Sam’s management and tactical vision have actually moved LiveScore Group’s success and assisted form the market’s direction. LiveScoreBet has actually attained significant user engagement, sports betting 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, having actually previously acted as the business’s Marketing and Operations Director since 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and has actually been in the online gaming market considering that 2000, holding different effective functions, sports betting consisting of General Manager of an information analytics team 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 company’s app has actually gathered considerable user engagement, with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

Damilare Alabi, Co-Founder, Managing Director NairaBET

Damilare Alabi has identified herself as a senior executive with a track record of changing start-ups into institutionalized services. Her knowledge spans the video gaming, realty, and credit lending markets, where he has developed himself as a tactical and operational leader.

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

Before this, she was the Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to June 2019, sports betting essential in the business’s functional techniques and market growth.

She founded DearDammy Women’s Initiative (DDWIN), a non-profit organization empowering women-owned companies. DDWIN offers frHer educational 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 company, sports betting developed the business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the very first sports betting wagering platform in Nigeria, sports betting it was the very first to release a totally practical website, setting a benchmark in the market.

Femi Babalola- General Manager of 1Xbet Nigeria Limited

Femi Babalola is the Managing Director sports betting of 1XBET Nigeria Limited, a franchise of the global sports betting company based in Cyprus. 1XBET, sports betting founded in 2007 by the late Sergey Karshkov, has established itself as one of the biggest bookmakers in Europe and the world. The business operates in more than 50 nations, including Nigeria, where it is totally licensed.

Under Babalola’s management, sports betting 1XBET Nigeria has actually expanded its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting market, offering a large range of wagering options and an user-friendly 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 actually teamed up with African socio-economic organizations and 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, founded and released in Nigeria on February 22, sports betting 2018, sports betting by Byron Petzer and Adekunle Adeniji, runs under the brand name of Lake Ventures Ltd. This pan-African sports betting wagering and entertainment business has quickly grown its presence in Nigeria, with outlets in significant cities and over 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

In 2020, BetKing participated in a partnership with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, developing over 100,000 jobs, the variety of which is increasing yearly. 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, sports betting the creator, majority shareholder, and joint Chief Executive of Bet365, an online gaming business she established in 2000. Bet365.com was introduced in 2001 as an online sports betting website and has given that become among the world’s largest online sports betting companies.

By 2016, Bet365 generated $2 billion in incomes and assisted in $45 billion in yearly bets. The company likewise holds a bulk stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has actually gathered substantial user engagement, with over 1 million 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 company in Nigeria, developed together with businessman Kunle Soname, who also owns Portuguese club CD Feirense and Nigerian club Remo Stars.

Ojuroye is also the Chairman of Mango Asset Management, an independent Nigerian asset management company that creates investment returns and uses special financial investment insights and services to both specific and institutional clients.

Founded in 2012 under KC Gaming Networks, Bet9ja has quickly grown in appeal, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store. Under Ojuroye’s management, sports betting Bet9ja has actually ended up being a significant player in the Nigerian sports betting market.

Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet

Fikayo Ogunfuye is a skilled specialist in the sports betting market. He has actually been functioning as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria given that June 2021. In this function, he has actually added to the business’s growth through partnerships, service strategy, and new organization development.

Fikayo’s experience includes functions such as Chief Operations Officer (West Africa) at 22BET, where he handled item development and client experience, and Country Manager at 22BET, concentrating on marketing technique and budget plan management. Before 22BET, he led marketing efforts at LuckyBet.NG and sports betting held various digital marketing functions at Laclic Services and Betty Bingo.

His profession started at Jumia Group, where he worked in SEO, sports betting CRM, and content management. Fikayo likewise worked 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 gambling platform that offers sports betting wagering, casino games, and sports betting live dealership games. It was launched in 2017 and is owned and operated by Marikit Holdings Ltd, sports betting a business 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 developed in 2013.

SportyBet is an international sports betting and real-money gaming operator understood for providing an omni-channel entertainment experience in managed emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s management, SportyBet has become a substantial player in the market, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store.

In addition to his function at SportyBet, Sudeep is an active financier in fintech and mobile payments and a strong supporter for the growing African internet community. His financial investments reflect his commitment to cultivating development and advancement within the area.

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

The company is set to interrupt the sports wagering market.

Sunbet Sporting International Limited has stated it is concentrated on revolutionising how countless Africans engage with sports betting. In a market worth over $1.5 billion yearly, with double-digit development projection in the coming years, according to reports from the African Sports Betting Association and PwC, the company intends to leverage advanced innovation and sports betting a commitment to accountable gambling to change the sector.

Backed by the monetary power of four popular African billionaires, sports betting Sunbet, which will launch in the very first quarter of 2025, aims to be the continent’s largest and most ingenious sports betting platform.

At a press instruction, the business’s spokesperson, Akin Babatunde, stated that the increase in Internet penetration, mobile usage, and the continent’s deep enthusiasm for sports betting, particularly football, has actually set the stage for Sunbet’s ambitious entry. He included that the firm’s robust sponsorship and professional group will allow it to scale and dominate the marketplace rapidly.

Islamic police raid betting stores in northern Nigeria

Islamic authorities in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have begun closing down sports betting shops, which they state are operating illegally.

“As you understand, wagering is forbidden in Islam,” Mujahid Aminudeen, deputy chief of the Sharia police, called the Hisbah, informed the BBC.

Grievances from neighborhood leaders and parents prompted the crackdown, fretted about the growing number of sports betting addicts, he stated.

On the first day of raids, 30 shops were closed in one suburb alone, and sports betting their owners were sent out home with a caution, the Sharia officer stated.

However Mr Aminudeen alerted that now that the general public understood that the Hisbah was clamping down on sports betting, those flouting the guidelines would be jailed.

Kano city is the capital of Kano state, which has a bulk Muslim population and operates the Islamic legal system – Sharia – alongside nonreligious law.

Bookmakers and bars tend to be enabled to operate in Kano’s Christian neighbourhoods, though they too can deal with action if the Hisbah believes Muslims are frequenting them.

Nevertheless, the present crackdown is concentrated on Muslim areas of Kano, a sprawling city and the financial hub of northern Nigeria.

Sports betting shops can be found all over the city. Most have tv screens, and customers enjoy the outcome of international football matches or horse races on which they have staked cash.

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

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

The sports betting industry has broadened dramatically across West Africa over the last few years. The region is approximately divided in between a mainly Muslim north and a primarily Christian south.

Many people go to bookies to take pleasure in the friendship of other gamblers, sports betting though mobile apps are likewise popular for wagering on the result of events and teams.

Nigeria’s debilitating economic crisis has also implied individuals want to run the risk of a percentage in the hope of winning huge.

However this had resulted in widespread dependency, and moms and dads were even grumbling that children were leaving of school to gamble, Mr Aminudeen said.

“These financial problems we are facing in Nigeria is God telling us to alter our ways by stopping sins,” he stated.

The raids on Tuesday concentrated 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 shops to either shut down or we’ll apprehend them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen stated.

It is unclear what punishment they would deal with – frequently, such infringements carry a fine.

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