Nigeria’s N2 Billion Sports Betting Battle: Industry Leaders Face Religious Clampdown as New Challenger Surfaces

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

Gaming has developed substantially in Nigeria from conventional forms like pool staking and Baba Ijebu to a thriving sports betting wagering industry. Historically connected to European football leagues, pool staking was a common sight at motor parks and kiosks, where enthusiasts would wager as low as N50-N200 on matches.

Slowly, with increased web gain access to came virtual sports betting, which parallels worldwide 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 economic challenges such as inflation, Nigeria’s sports betting sector has thrived, attracting millions, especially among the younger demographic facing high joblessness rates.

Reports suggest that approximately 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively engage in sports betting, driving an industry that creates an approximated annual profits of N730 billion. The federal government has actually not gone undetected by this growth, sports betting which is thinking about regulatory steps like import tax tasks and VAT boosts to manage the sector.

The National Lottery Act of 2005 established regulatory bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to make sure reasonable operations despite obstacles in enforcement. Problems such as insufficient age verification and advertising guideline breaches show market regulative gaps.

In spite of these challenges, sports betting companies continue to grow through efficient business designs and aggressive marketing strategies, leveraging the developer influencer industry.

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

Sheriff Olaniyan – CEO Surebet247

Sheriff Olaniyan is the CEO of Surebet247, a sports betting book business he co-founded with Badmos Olasupo in 2011. His diverse profession spans different roles in the video gaming and show business, consisting of working at one of the United Kingdom’s biggest video 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 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, sports betting running through online, mobile, and sports betting retail channels. The business was integrated in Nigeria on November 7, 2006, and has considering that expanded its presence, achieving over 5,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

Sam Sadi – CEO Livescorebet

Sam Sadi has more than 25 years of experience in wagering brand names and sports betting media. In 2019, he became the CEO of LiveScore Group, a fully integrated environment that integrates relevant sports betting material, sports betting engaging features, and a world-class sportsbook.

Considering that taking the helm just before the pandemic, Sam has driven significant growth for sports betting LiveScore Group. The company’s worker headcount has actually increased by 29%, and yearly revenue has actually 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 direction. LiveScoreBet has actually achieved major user engagement, sports betting with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

Anthony Werkman – CEO of Betway Group

Anthony Werkman was selected CEO of Betway in November 2017, having actually formerly served as the company’s Marketing and sports betting Operations Director because 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and sports betting has been in the online video gaming market given that 2000, holding different effective roles, consisting of General Manager of a data analytics team and Director of a digital marketing company.

Under Werkman’s management, Betway has actually continued to grow its market presence and enhance its offerings. The business’s app has amassed considerable user engagement, 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 sports betting executive with a track record of changing start-ups into institutionalized businesses. Her know-how spans the gaming, real estate, and credit loaning industries, sports betting where he has developed himself as a tactical and functional leader.

Damilare has been instrumental in NairaBET’s success for over 14 years. Because June 2019, she has actually functioned as Managing Director and has supervised the company’s development and operations in Lagos, Nigeria.

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

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

Akin Alabi, the founder of NairaBET.com, Nigeria’s pioneering sports betting bookmaking business, sports betting established the business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the first sports betting wagering platform in Nigeria, it was the first to release a completely practical website, setting a standard in the market.

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 developed itself as one of the largest bookies in Europe and the world. The business runs in more than 50 nations, consisting of Nigeria, where it is totally certified.

Under Babalola’s management, 1XBET Nigeria has expanded its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting market, offering a wide variety of wagering choices 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 collaborated with African socio-economic institutions and governments to develop 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 sports betting launched in Nigeria on February 22, 2018, by Byron Petzer and sports betting Adekunle Adeniji, operates under the trademark name of Lake Ventures Ltd. This pan-African sports betting and entertainment business has quickly grown its existence in Nigeria, with outlets in major cities and sports betting 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, sports betting the variety of which is increasing each year. In the 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, sports betting majority investor, and joint Chief Executive of Bet365, an online sports betting company she established in 2000. Bet365.com was launched in 2001 as an online wagering website and has considering that become among the world’s biggest online gambling companies.

By 2016, Bet365 created $2 billion in earnings and assisted in $45 billion in yearly bets. The business likewise holds a bulk stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has actually gathered substantial user engagement, sports betting 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 along with entrepreneur 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 property management company that produces financial investment returns and provides distinct investment insights and services to both specific and sports betting institutional customers.

Founded in 2012 under KC Gaming Networks, Bet9ja has quickly grown in popularity, 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 market.

Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet

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

Fikayo’s experience includes functions such as Chief Operations Officer (West Africa) at 22BET, where he managed product development and sports betting customer experience, and sports betting Country Manager at 22BET, 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 operated in SEO, CRM, and content management. Fikayo likewise 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, gambling establishment games, and live dealer games. It was released in 2017 and is owned and operated by Marikit Holdings Ltd, a business signed up 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 company he established in 2013.

SportyBet is a global sports betting wagering and real-money video gaming operator known for providing an omni-channel entertainment experience in managed emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s management, SportyBet has actually ended up being a substantial gamer 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 supporter for the growing African web community. His financial investments show his commitment to promoting development and development within the region.

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

The company is set to interfere with the sports betting industry.

Sunbet Sporting International Limited has stated it is focused 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 technology and a commitment to responsible gaming to change the sector.

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

At a press instruction, the business’s spokesperson, Akin Babatunde, stated that the increase in Internet penetration, mobile use, sports betting and the continent’s deep passion for sports betting, especially football, has set the stage for Sunbet’s ambitious entry. He added that the firm’s robust sponsorship and sports betting expert team will allow it to scale and control the marketplace rapidly.

Islamic police raid betting stores in northern Nigeria

Islamic authorities in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have actually begun shutting down sports betting shops, which they say are running unlawfully.

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

Problems from community leaders and moms and dads triggered the crackdown, sports betting fretted about the growing number of addicts, he said.

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

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

Kano city is the capital of Kano state, which has a majority Muslim population and operates the Islamic legal system – Sharia – along with secular law.

Bookies and sports betting bars tend to be permitted to operate in Kano’s Christian neighbourhoods, though they too can deal with action if the Hisbah thinks Muslims are frequenting them.

Nevertheless, the existing crackdown is concentrated on Muslim areas of Kano, a vast city and the financial center of northern Nigeria.

Sports betting stores can be discovered all over the city. Most have tv screens, and consumers enjoy the outcome of worldwide football matches or horse races on which they have actually staked cash.

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

“They don’t have licences to operate as they were permitted to run computer game centres, which they later on transformed to wagering shops,” he stated.

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

Many individuals go to bookmakers to delight in the camaraderie of other gamblers, though mobile apps are likewise popular for sports betting on the outcome of events and teams.

Nigeria’s crippling economic crisis has likewise meant people want to run the risk of a small amount in the hope of winning big.

However this had actually resulted in widespread addiction, and parents were even complaining that children were leaving of school to gamble, Mr Aminudeen said.

“These economic issues we are facing in Nigeria is God telling 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 advising those running those wagering shops to either closed down or we’ll apprehend them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen said.

It is uncertain what penalty they would face – frequently, sports betting such violations carry a fine.

Sharia was introduced 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.