Betting Industry Shake-up: Disruption Meets Regulation in Nigeria’s Gaming Sector
Meet CEOs/MDs of business behind Nigeria’s $2 billion Sports wagering market.
Gaming has actually progressed significantly in Nigeria from traditional types like pool staking and Baba Ijebu to a thriving sports betting wagering market. Historically tied to European football leagues, pool staking was a common sight at motor parks and kiosks, where lovers would bet as little as N50-N200 on matches.
Slowly, with increased internet gain access to came virtual sports betting, which parallels worldwide trends. The sports betting market is valued at $89.91 billion in 2023 and is predicted to nearly double to $182.02 billion by 2030.
In spite of economic challenges such as inflation, Nigeria’s sports betting sector has actually thrived, bring in millions, particularly among the youthful market dealing with high joblessness rates.
Reports indicate that roughly 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively engage in sports betting, driving an industry that produces an approximated annual profits of N730 billion. The federal government has actually not gone unnoticed by this development, which is thinking about regulatory steps like import tax responsibilities and VAT increases to handle the sector.
The National Lottery Act of 2005 recognized regulatory bodies like the Regulatory Commission to ensure fair operations regardless of difficulties in enforcement. Problems such as inadequate age verification and marketing guideline breaches reveal market regulative gaps.
Despite these challenges, sports betting wagering companies continue to prosper through effective service designs and aggressive marketing techniques, leveraging the creator influencer industry.
These efforts have contributed to Nigeria’s robust $2 billion gaming sector, with CEOs playing essential roles in broadening audience reach and sports betting driving market growth. Here are the CEOs of leading sports betting companies who have actually substantially contributed to Nigeria’s $2 billion gambling empire through their extensive audience reach.
Constable Olaniyan – CEO Surebet247
Constable Olaniyan is the CEO of Surebet247, a sports betting book company he co-founded with Badmos Olasupo in 2011. His diverse profession spans different functions in the video gaming and entertainment industry, including operating at among the United Kingdom’s largest gaming centres, The Palace Bingo Club, where he served as the Lead Engineer in a Bingo and 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, sports betting founded in August 2011, has grown into a leading e-commerce business in the wagering and gaming sector, operating through online, mobile, and retail channels. The company was incorporated in Nigeria on November 7, sports betting 2006, and has because 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 brands and sports betting media. In 2019, he ended up being the CEO of LiveScore Group, a fully integrated ecosystem that integrates pertinent sports betting material, engaging features, and a first-rate sportsbook.
Since taking the helm right before the pandemic, Sam has driven substantial growth for LiveScore Group. The company’s staff member headcount has actually increased by 29%, and yearly earnings has risen from around ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.
Sam’s leadership and tactical vision have propelled LiveScore Group’s success and helped form the industry’s instructions. LiveScoreBet has actually achieved 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 actually formerly functioned as the business’s Marketing and Operations Director because 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and has been in the online gaming market considering that 2000, holding different effective functions, including General Manager of a data analytics group and Director of a digital marketing agency.
Under Werkman’s management, Betway has continued to grow its market existence and boost its offerings. The company’s app has gathered substantial user engagement, with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.
Damilare Alabi, Co-Founder, Managing Director NairaBET
Damilare Alabi has actually differentiated herself as a senior executive with a track record of transforming start-ups into institutionalized services. Her proficiency spans the video gaming, property, and credit financing industries, where he has established himself as a strategic and functional leader.
Damilare has contributed in NairaBET’s success for over 14 years. Given that June 2019, she has actually served as Managing Director and has overseen the business’s growth and 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 operational strategies and market growth.
She founded DearDammy Women’s Initiative (DDWIN), sports betting a non-profit company empowering women-owned businesses. DDWIN offers frHer academic 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 company, developed business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the first sports betting wagering platform in Nigeria, sports betting it was the first to release a totally practical website, setting a standard 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 international sports betting wagering company based in Cyprus. 1XBET, founded in 2007 by the late Sergey Karshkov, has established itself as one of the largest bookmakers in Europe and the world. The company runs in more than 50 nations, including Nigeria, sports betting where it is totally licensed.
Under Babalola’s leadership, sports betting 1XBET Nigeria has broadened its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting wagering market, providing a wide range of sports betting options 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 of KingMakers, and Chairman of Vend Capital. In addition to leading these ventures, Ukanwoke has actually teamed up with African socio-economic organizations and federal governments to create developmental policies focused on empowering youths. 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, by Byron Petzer and Adekunle Adeniji, runs under the trademark name of Lake Ventures Ltd. This pan-African sports betting and sports betting home entertainment company has actually rapidly 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, developing over 100,000 jobs, 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 founder, bulk shareholder, and joint Chief Executive of Bet365, an online gambling business she established in 2000. Bet365.com was introduced in 2001 as an online sports betting site and has actually because become among the world’s biggest online sports betting business.
By 2016, Bet365 created $2 billion in earnings and assisted in $45 billion in annual bets. The company also holds a majority stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has gathered substantial 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 company in Nigeria, established alongside business owner Kunle Soname, sports betting 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 produces financial investment returns and offers special financial investment insights and solutions to both private 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 management, Bet9ja has actually become a substantial gamer in the Nigerian sports betting wagering industry.
Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet
Fikayo Ogunfuye is a seasoned specialist in the sports betting industry. He has actually been working as the Country Director for sports betting 22BET in Nigeria because June 2021. In this role, sports betting he has actually contributed to the business’s growth through partnerships, company technique, and brand-new company advancement.
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 strategy and budget plan management. Before 22BET, he led marketing efforts at LuckyBet.NG and sports betting held various digital marketing roles at Laclic Services and Betty Bingo.
His career began at Jumia Group, sports betting where he worked in SEO, 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 sports betting 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 provides sports betting wagering, sports betting gambling establishment video games, and live dealership video games. It was launched in 2017 and sports betting is owned and run by Marikit Holdings Ltd, sports betting a company signed up in Cyprus and a subsidiary of Orakum N.V.. They are likewise 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 video gaming operator known for delivering an omni-channel home entertainment experience in managed emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s management, SportyBet has actually become a substantial player in the industry, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store.
In addition to his role at SportyBet, Sudeep is an active investor in fintech and mobile payments and a strong advocate for the growing African web environment. His financial investments show his dedication to fostering development and advancement within the area.
On April 30, 2024, Sudeep Ramnani bought Chowdeck, sports betting taking part in a seed round valued at $2.5 million.
The company is set to interfere with the sports wagering market.
Sunbet Sporting International Limited has said it is focused on changing how countless 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, according to reports from the African Sports Betting Association and PwC, the company intends to leverage innovative technology and a dedication to responsible gaming to change the sector.
Backed by the monetary power of four popular African billionaires, sports betting Sunbet, which will launch in the first quarter of 2025, aims to be the continent’s biggest and sports betting most innovative sports betting platform.
At a press instruction, the company’s spokesperson, Akin Babatunde, sports betting said that the rise in Internet penetration, mobile usage, and sports betting the continent’s deep enthusiasm for sports betting, especially football, sports betting has actually set the stage for Sunbet’s ambitious entry. He added that the firm’s robust sponsorship and professional team will allow it to scale and dominate the market quickly.
Islamic authorities raid wagering shops in northern Nigeria
Islamic police in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have begun shutting down sports betting wagering shops, which they say are running illegally.
“As you understand, sports betting is forbidden in Islam,” Mujahid Aminudeen, deputy chief of the Sharia police force, referred to as the Hisbah, told the BBC.
Grievances from community leaders and moms and dads prompted the crackdown, stressed over the growing variety 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 said.
But Mr Aminudeen alerted that now that the general public was aware that the Hisbah was clamping down on gambling, those flouting the rules would be detained.
Kano city is the capital of Kano state, which has a bulk Muslim population and sports betting operates the Islamic legal system – Sharia – alongside nonreligious law.
Bookmakers and bars tend to be enabled to operate in Kano’s Christian neighbourhoods, sports betting though they too can face action if the Hisbah thinks Muslims are frequenting them.
However, the existing crackdown is concentrated on Muslim areas of Kano, a vast city and the economic center of northern Nigeria.
Sports betting stores can be discovered all over the city. Many have tv screens, and clients enjoy the outcome of international football matches or horse races on which they have actually staked cash.
Mr Aminudeen said such bookmakers had been able to operate under the radar as they had actually opened under false pretenses.
“They don’t have licences to operate as they were permitted to run video games centres, which they later on converted to sports betting stores,” he stated.
The sports betting market has expanded drastically throughout West Africa in recent years. The region is approximately divided in between a primarily Muslim north and a mainly Christian south.
Many individuals go to bookies to enjoy the camaraderie of other gamblers, though mobile apps are likewise popular for wagering on the result of occasions and groups.
Nigeria’s crippling economic crisis has also meant people want to run the risk of a percentage in the hope of winning big.
However this had actually caused widespread dependency, and parents were even complaining that children were leaving of school to gamble, Mr Aminudeen said.
“These financial problems we are dealing with in Nigeria is God telling us to change 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 encouraging those running those sports betting shops to either closed down or we’ll arrest them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen said.
It is uncertain what penalty they would face – typically, such infringements bring a fine.
Sharia was presented in Kano in 2000 – as it was in 11 other Muslim-majority northern states – and prostitution, sports betting and the usage of alcohol were banned.
