Meet CEOs/MDs of business behind Nigeria's $2 billion Sports wagering market.
sports betting has developed substantially in Nigeria from conventional types like pool staking and Baba Ijebu to a growing sports betting wagering market. Historically connected to European football leagues, swimming pool staking was a common sight at motor parks and kiosks, where enthusiasts would bet as low as N50-N200 on matches.
Slowly, with increased internet gain access to came virtual wagering, which parallels global patterns. The sports betting market is valued at $89.91 billion in 2023 and is predicted to nearly double to $182.02 billion by 2030.
Despite financial challenges such as inflation, Nigeria's sports betting sector has prospered, drawing in millions, particularly amongst the younger group facing high joblessness rates.
Reports show that around 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively engage in sports betting wagering, driving a market that produces an estimated yearly profits of N730 billion. The federal government has not gone undetected by this development, which is considering regulatory procedures like import tax responsibilities and VAT boosts to manage the sector.
The National Lottery Act of 2005 established regulatory bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to guarantee fair operations regardless of difficulties in enforcement. Problems such as inadequate age confirmation and advertising rule breaches show market regulative spaces.
Regardless of these challenges, sports betting wagering business continue to grow through effective company designs and aggressive marketing techniques, leveraging the creator influencer market.
These efforts have actually added to Nigeria's robust $2 billion gambling sector, with CEOs playing essential functions in expanding audience reach and driving market development. Here are the CEOs of leading sports betting business who have actually considerably contributed to Nigeria's $2 billion gambling empire through their comprehensive audience reach.
Sheriff Olaniyan - CEO Surebet247
Sheriff Olaniyan is the CEO of Surebet247, a sports betting book company he co-founded with Badmos Olasupo in 2011. His diverse profession covers different roles in the gaming and entertainment industry, including operating at one of 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, founded in August 2011, has actually become a leading e-commerce business in the sports betting and gaming sector, operating through online, mobile, and retail channels. The company was incorporated in Nigeria on November 7, 2006, and has actually given that expanded 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 sports betting brand sports betting names and sports betting media. In 2019, he became the CEO of LiveScore Group, a totally incorporated community that combines relevant sports betting content, engaging functions, and a world-class sportsbook.
Since taking the helm just before the pandemic, Sam has driven substantial development for LiveScore Group. The business's worker headcount has actually increased by 29%, and yearly income has surged from approximately ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.
Sam's management and tactical vision have actually propelled LiveScore Group's success and helped form the industry's direction. LiveScoreBet has accomplished major 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 worked as the business's Marketing and Operations Director since 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and has actually remained in the online gaming market because 2000, holding different effective functions, consisting of General Manager of a data analytics team and Director of a digital marketing company.
Under Werkman's management, Betway has continued to grow its market existence and improve its offerings. The business's app has garnered significant user engagement, with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.
Damilare Alabi, Co-Founder, Managing Director NairaBET
Damilare Alabi has actually identified herself as a senior executive with a performance history of transforming start-ups into institutionalized businesses. Her proficiency spans the video gaming, property, and credit loaning industries, where he has established himself as a tactical and operational leader.
Damilare has contributed in NairaBET's success for over 14 years. Considering that June 2019, she has actually served as Managing Director sports betting and has overseen the company's growth and operations in Lagos, Nigeria.
Before this, she was the Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to June 2019, pivotal in the business's functional techniques and market growth.
She established DearDammy Women's Initiative (DDWIN), sports betting a non-profit organization empowering women-owned services. DDWIN supplies frHer instructional background consists of a Bachelor's degree in Geology/Earth Science from the University of Ibadan, sports betting finished in 2005.
Akin Alabi, the creator of NairaBET.com, Nigeria's pioneering sports betting bookmaking company, developed the business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the very first sports betting platform in Nigeria, it was the first to introduce a fully functional site, 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 business based in Cyprus. 1XBET, founded in 2007 by the late Sergey Karshkov, has actually established itself as one of the largest bookmakers in Europe and the world. The business runs in more than 50 countries, including Nigeria, where it is completely licensed.
Under Babalola's management, sports betting 1XBET Nigeria has actually broadened its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting wagering market, providing a large range of sports betting options and an easy to use 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, sports betting Ukanwoke has actually teamed up with African socio-economic institutions and federal 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 launched in Nigeria on February 22, 2018, by Byron Petzer and Adekunle Adeniji, operates under the trademark name of Lake Ventures Ltd. This pan-African sports betting wagering and entertainment business has actually quickly grown its presence in Nigeria, with outlets in significant cities and over 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.
In 2020, BetKing entered into a partnership with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, developing over 100,000 jobs, the number of which is increasing yearly. 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 founder, majority shareholder, and joint Chief Executive of Bet365, an online gaming business 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 gaming companies.
By 2016, Bet365 produced $2 billion in earnings and assisted in $45 billion in annual bets. The business also holds a majority stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has actually garnered 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 wagering company in Nigeria, developed along with business person 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 financial investment returns and sports betting offers special financial investment insights and options to both private and sports betting institutional clients.
Founded in 2012 under KC Gaming Networks, Bet9ja has rapidly grown in popularity, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store. Under Ojuroye's management, sports betting Bet9ja has become a substantial player in the Nigerian sports betting industry.
Fikayo Ogunfuye - Country Director 22bet
Fikayo Ogunfuye is a skilled expert in the sports betting wagering market. He has been functioning as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria given that June 2021. In this function, he has added to the business's development through collaborations, business strategy, and new business development.
Fikayo's experience includes roles such as Chief Operations Officer (West Africa) at 22BET, where he managed product advancement and consumer experience, sports betting and Country Manager at 22BET, concentrating on marketing strategy and budget plan management. Before 22BET, he led marketing efforts at LuckyBet.NG and held various digital marketing roles at Laclic Services and Betty Bingo.
His career started at Jumia Group, sports betting where he worked in SEO, CRM, and content management. Fikayo likewise acted 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 sports betting platform that uses sports betting wagering, gambling establishment video games, and sports betting live dealer video games. It was introduced in 2017 and sports betting is owned and operated by Marikit Holdings Ltd, a company signed up in Cyprus and a subsidiary of Orakum N.V.. They are likewise the owners of Betwinner and sports betting 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 entertainment experience in controlled emerging markets. Under Ramnani's management, SportyBet has actually ended up being 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 investments reflect his dedication to promoting development and sports betting development within the region.
On April 30, 2024, sports betting Sudeep Ramnani invested in Chowdeck, sports betting participating in a seed round valued at $2.5 million.
The company is set to interrupt the sports betting industry.
Sunbet Sporting International Limited has said it is concentrated on changing 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 advanced innovation and a dedication to accountable gaming to revolutionise the sector.
Backed by the monetary power of four popular African billionaires, Sunbet, which will launch in the very first quarter of 2025, intends to be the continent's biggest and most ingenious sports betting wagering platform.
At a press instruction, the company's spokesperson, Akin Babatunde, said that the increase in Internet penetration, mobile usage, and the continent's deep enthusiasm for sports betting, especially football, has set the stage for Sunbet's ambitious entry. He included that the company's robust financial backing and professional group will enable it to scale and sports betting control the market quickly.
Islamic authorities raid wagering stores in northern Nigeria
Islamic police in Nigeria's northern city of Kano have started shutting down sports betting shops, which they say are operating unlawfully.
"As you know, wagering is forbidden in Islam," Mujahid Aminudeen, deputy chief of the Sharia police force, called the Hisbah, sports betting informed the BBC.
Problems from neighborhood leaders and moms and dads prompted the crackdown, fretted about the growing variety of gambling addicts, 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 warning, the Sharia officer said.
However Mr Aminudeen alerted that now that the public understood that the Hisbah was clamping down on gaming, those flouting the rules would be arrested.
Kano city is the capital of Kano state, which has a majority Muslim population and runs the Islamic legal system - Sharia - together with nonreligious law.
Bookies and bars tend to be enabled to operate in Kano's Christian neighbourhoods, though they too can face action if the Hisbah believes Muslims are frequenting them.
Nevertheless, the present crackdown is concentrated on Muslim locations of Kano, a vast city and sports betting the financial hub of northern Nigeria.
sports betting wagering stores can be discovered all over the city. Many have television screens, and customers see the outcome of international football matches or horse races on which they have staked money.
Mr Aminudeen stated such bookies had actually had the ability to operate under the radar as they had opened under false pretences.
"They do not have licences to operate as they were allowed to run video games centres, which they later on converted to sports betting shops," he said.
The sports betting wagering market has expanded dramatically throughout West Africa over the last few years. The region is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and sports betting a primarily Christian south.
Many individuals go to bookies to delight in the friendship of other gamblers, though mobile apps are likewise popular for wagering on the outcome of occasions and sports betting groups.
Nigeria's debilitating economic crisis has actually likewise implied individuals want to risk a percentage in the hope of winning big.
But this had actually caused extensive addiction, and parents were even grumbling that kids were dropping out of school to gamble, Mr Aminudeen stated.
"These economic problems we are dealing with in Nigeria is God informing us to alter our methods by stopping sins," he said.
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 advising those running those wagering stores to either closed down or we'll detain them and take them to [a Sharia] court," Mr Aminudeen stated.
It is unclear what punishment they would face - often, such infringements carry a fine.
Sharia was presented in Kano in 2000 - as it was in 11 other Muslim-majority northern states - and prostitution, gaming and the consumption of alcohol were banned.
