Betting’s Billion-Dollar War: Industry Leaders Face Dual Challenge in Nigeria

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

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

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

In spite of economic difficulties such as inflation, sports betting Nigeria’s sports betting wagering sector has flourished, drawing in millions, particularly amongst the younger demographic dealing with high unemployment rates.

Reports show that roughly 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively take part in sports betting wagering, driving an industry that produces an approximated yearly earnings of N730 billion. The federal government has not gone undetected by this development, which is thinking about regulatory steps like import tax duties and VAT increases to manage the sector.

The National Lottery Act of 2005 established regulative bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to make sure reasonable operations in spite of difficulties in enforcement. Problems such as inadequate age confirmation and marketing rule breaches reveal market regulative gaps.

In spite of these obstacles, sports betting business continue to flourish through efficient company designs and aggressive marketing techniques, leveraging the developer influencer market.

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

Sheriff 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 numerous roles in the video gaming and entertainment industry, including operating at among 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 actually become a leading e-commerce business 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, accomplishing over 5,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

Sam Sadi – CEO Livescorebet

Sam Sadi has over 25 years of experience in sports betting brands and sports betting media. In 2019, he became the CEO of LiveScore Group, sports betting a fully incorporated community that integrates relevant sports betting material, sports betting engaging features, and a world-class sportsbook.

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

Sam’s leadership and tactical vision have actually propelled LiveScore Group’s success and assisted form the market’s instructions. LiveScoreBet has actually achieved major user engagement, 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 previously acted as the company’s Marketing and Operations Director because 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and has actually remained in the online gaming market since 2000, holding numerous successful roles, consisting of General Manager of a data analytics group and Director of a digital marketing firm.

Under Werkman’s leadership, Betway has continued to grow its market presence and boost its offerings. The company’s app has actually garnered considerable 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 performance history of transforming start-ups into institutionalized companies. Her competence spans the gaming, realty, and credit lending industries, sports betting where he has established himself as a strategic and operational leader.

Damilare has been instrumental in NairaBET’s success for over 14 years. Because June 2019, she has acted as Managing Director and has managed the company’s growth and operations in Lagos, sports betting Nigeria.

Before this, she was the Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to June 2019, critical in the business’s functional strategies and market expansion.

She founded DearDammy Women’s Initiative (DDWIN), a non-profit organization empowering women-owned services. DDWIN provides 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, established business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the very first sports betting wagering platform in Nigeria, it was the very first to launch a completely practical site, 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 business based in Cyprus. 1XBET, founded in 2007 by the late Sergey Karshkov, has established itself as one of the largest bookies in Europe and the world. The business runs in more than 50 nations, including Nigeria, where it is completely licensed.

Under Babalola’s management, 1XBET Nigeria has actually expanded its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting market, using a vast array of sports betting choices and sports betting 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, sports betting Ukanwoke has worked together with African socio-economic organizations and governments to design 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 launched 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 home entertainment business has 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 collaboration with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, developing over 100,000 tasks, the number of which is increasing each 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 sports betting business she developed in 2000. Bet365.com was introduced in 2001 as an online wagering website and has considering that turned into one of the world’s biggest online sports betting companies.

By 2016, Bet365 created $2 billion in revenues and facilitated $45 billion in annual bets. The business likewise holds a majority stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has actually 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 along with business owner 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 business that creates financial investment returns and uses distinct financial investment insights and solutions to both individual and institutional customers.

Founded in 2012 under KC Gaming Networks, Bet9ja has actually rapidly grown in appeal, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store. Under Ojuroye’s leadership, Bet9ja has actually become a considerable player in the Nigerian sports betting wagering industry.

Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet

Fikayo Ogunfuye is an experienced expert in the sports betting wagering industry. He has actually been acting as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria considering that June 2021. In this role, he has added to the business’s development through partnerships, business strategy, and new company advancement.

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

His career started at Jumia Group, where he worked in SEO, CRM, and content management. Fikayo also 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 uses sports betting, gambling establishment games, and live dealer video games. It was launched in 2017 and is owned and sports betting 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 casinos worldwide.

Sudeep Ramnani– CEO Sportybet Group

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

SportyBet is a global sports betting and real-money video gaming operator understood for delivering an omni-channel home entertainment experience in regulated emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s management, SportyBet has ended up being a substantial gamer in the industry, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store.

In addition to his function at SportyBet, Sudeep is an active investor in fintech and mobile payments and a strong advocate for the growing African web community. His investments show his dedication to fostering innovation 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 firm is set to disrupt the sports betting industry.

Sunbet Sporting International Limited has said 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 aims to take advantage of innovative innovation and a dedication to accountable gambling to change the sector.

Backed by the financial power of four popular African billionaires, 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, said that the increase in Internet penetration, mobile use, and the continent’s deep enthusiasm for sports betting, specifically football, has set the stage for Sunbet’s enthusiastic entry. He included that the company’s robust financial backing and specialist group will enable it to scale and dominate the marketplace rapidly.

Islamic police raid wagering stores in northern Nigeria

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

“As you understand, sports betting is forbidden in Islam,” Mujahid Aminudeen, deputy chief of the Sharia police, referred to as the Hisbah, sports betting told the BBC.

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

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.

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 runs the Islamic legal system – Sharia – along with nonreligious law.

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

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

sports betting wagering shops can be discovered all over the city. A lot of have television screens, and consumers view the result of global football matches or horse races on which they have staked money.

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

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

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

Many people go to bookies to take pleasure in the sociability of other gamblers, though mobile apps are also popular for sports betting on the outcome of occasions and groups.

Nigeria’s debilitating economic crisis has actually likewise meant people want to run the risk of a percentage in the hope of winning huge.

But this had actually caused widespread addiction, and parents were even grumbling that children were leaving of school to gamble, Mr Aminudeen said.

“These financial 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, thought about a resort area in the northeast of the city– visitors flock there at weekends.

“I am recommending those running those sports betting shops to either closed down or we’ll jail them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen stated.

It is uncertain what penalty they would face – often, such infringements carry a fine.

Sharia was introduced in Kano in 2000 – as it was in 11 other Muslim-majority northern states – and prostitution, gambling and the consumption of alcohol were banned.