Betting Leaders Under Pressure: Fresh Player Enters as Northern Nigeria Tightens Betting Restrictions

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

sports betting has actually evolved substantially in Nigeria from traditional kinds like pool staking and Baba Ijebu to a flourishing sports betting market. Historically tied to European football leagues, swimming pool staking was a common sight at motor parks and sports betting kiosks, where lovers would wager as little as N50-N200 on matches.

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

In spite of financial difficulties such as inflation, Nigeria’s sports betting sector has thrived, bring in millions, especially among the youthful group dealing with high unemployment rates.

Reports suggest that approximately 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively participate in sports betting wagering, driving a market that creates an approximated annual profits of N730 billion. The federal government has actually not gone undetected by this growth, which is thinking about regulative measures like excise duties and VAT boosts to manage the sector.

The National Lottery Act of 2005 established regulative bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to guarantee reasonable operations regardless of challenges in enforcement. Concerns such as insufficient age verification and advertising guideline breaches show market regulative spaces.

Regardless of these challenges, sports betting companies continue to prosper through efficient service models and aggressive marketing methods, leveraging the creator influencer industry.

These efforts have contributed to Nigeria’s robust $2 billion sports betting sector, with CEOs playing vital functions in broadening audience reach and driving market development. Here are the CEOs of leading sports betting companies who have actually significantly added to Nigeria’s $2 billion sports betting empire through their comprehensive 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 varied profession spans numerous roles in the gaming and show business, 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 become a leading e-commerce organization in the sports betting and video gaming sector, running through online, mobile, and retail channels. The company was incorporated in Nigeria on November 7, 2006, and has actually given that 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 sports betting brands and sports betting media. In 2019, he ended up being the CEO of LiveScore Group, a totally incorporated community that combines relevant sports betting content, engaging features, sports betting and a first-rate sportsbook.

Since taking the helm right before the pandemic, Sam has driven considerable development for sports betting LiveScore Group. The company’s worker headcount has increased by 29%, and yearly income has actually surged from roughly ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.

Sam’s management and sports betting strategic vision have actually moved LiveScore Group’s success and assisted shape the market’s direction. LiveScoreBet has attained major user engagement, 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 previously acted as the company’s Marketing and Operations Director sports betting since 2015. He joined Betway in 2013 and has remained in the online video gaming market because 2000, holding different effective roles, including 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 existence and improve its offerings. The business’s app has actually 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 differentiated herself as a senior executive with a performance history of changing start-ups into institutionalized organizations. Her know-how spans the gaming, sports betting real estate, and credit financing markets, where he has developed himself as a strategic and operational leader.

Damilare has actually contributed in NairaBET’s success for sports betting over 14 years. Considering that June 2019, she has served as Managing Director and sports betting has supervised the business’s development and sports betting 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 expansion.

She founded DearDammy Women’s Initiative (DDWIN), a non-profit company empowering women-owned businesses. DDWIN offers frHer instructional background consists of a Bachelor’s degree in Geology/Earth Science from the University of Ibadan, sports betting completed in 2005.

Akin Alabi, the creator of NairaBET.com, Nigeria’s pioneering sports betting bookmaking business, developed the business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the very first sports betting wagering platform in Nigeria, it was the very first to introduce a totally functional site, setting a criteria 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 global sports betting wagering business based in Cyprus. 1XBET, founded in 2007 by the late Sergey Karshkov, has developed itself as one of the largest bookies in Europe and the world. The company runs in more than 50 countries, consisting of Nigeria, where it is fully accredited.

Under Babalola’s leadership, 1XBET Nigeria has 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 ventures, Ukanwoke has collaborated with African socio-economic institutions and federal 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, founded and launched 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 home entertainment company has actually quickly grown its presence in Nigeria, with outlets in major cities and over 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

In 2020, BetKing participated in a partnership with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, creating over 100,000 jobs, the variety of which is increasing every 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, 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 wagering site and has actually because become one of the world’s largest online gaming companies.

By 2016, Bet365 produced $2 billion in revenues and facilitated $45 billion in yearly bets. The company likewise holds a bulk stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has garnered 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 business in Nigeria, developed alongside business owner Kunle Soname, sports betting 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 offers special financial investment insights and options to both individual and sports betting institutional clients.

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 management, Bet9ja has actually become a substantial player in the Nigerian sports betting wagering industry.

Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet

Fikayo Ogunfuye is a skilled professional in the sports betting industry. He has actually been serving as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria considering that June 2021. In this role, he has added to the business’s development through collaborations, business method, and new company advancement.

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

His profession began at Jumia Group, where he operated in SEO, CRM, and content management. Fikayo also functioned 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, gambling establishment video games, and sports betting live dealership video games. It was introduced in 2017 and is owned and run by Marikit Holdings Ltd, a company registered in Cyprus and a subsidiary of Orakum N.V.. They are also the owners of Betwinner and a chain of gambling establishments worldwide.

Sudeep Ramnani– CEO Sportybet Group

Sudeep Ramnani is the Founder and sports betting CEO of SportyBet, sports betting a company he established in 2013.

SportyBet is a worldwide sports betting wagering and real-money video gaming operator known for sports betting providing an omni-channel home entertainment experience in managed emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s management, SportyBet has actually become a considerable gamer in the market, with over 1 million downloads on the 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 internet community. His investments reflect his dedication to fostering development and advancement within the region.

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

The company is set to disrupt the sports betting market.

Sunbet Sporting International Limited has stated it is concentrated on revolutionising how countless Africans engage with sports betting. In an industry worth over $1.5 billion annual, with double-digit growth projection in the coming years, according to reports from the African Sports Betting Association and PwC, the firm aims to leverage innovative technology and a commitment to accountable gambling to revolutionise the sector.

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

At a press briefing, the company’s representative, sports betting Akin Babatunde, stated that the increase in Internet penetration, mobile usage, and the continent’s deep passion for sports betting, specifically football, has set the stage for sports betting Sunbet’s ambitious entry. He added that the firm’s robust sponsorship and specialist team will enable it to scale and dominate the marketplace quickly.

Islamic cops raid wagering shops in northern Nigeria

Islamic police in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have actually started closing down sports betting stores, which they say are running illegally.

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

Grievances from neighborhood leaders and parents prompted the crackdown, stressed over the growing number of gambling addicts, he stated.

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

But 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 bulk Muslim population and runs the Islamic legal system – Sharia – along with nonreligious law.

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

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

sports betting wagering shops can be found all over the city. Many have television screens, sports betting and clients view the outcome of worldwide football matches or horse races on which they have staked money.

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

“They do not have licences to run as they were allowed to run video games centres, which they later on transformed to wagering stores,” he said.

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

Many people go to bookmakers to take pleasure in the camaraderie of other gamblers, though mobile apps are likewise popular for sports betting on the outcome of occasions and teams.

Nigeria’s crippling economic crisis has likewise meant individuals are willing to risk a small amount in the hope of winning big.

But this had resulted in extensive dependency, and parents were even grumbling that children were dropping out of school to bet, Mr Aminudeen stated.

“These economic concerns we are dealing with in Nigeria is God telling us to alter our methods 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 closed down or we’ll apprehend them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen stated.

It is unclear what penalty they would face – typically, such infringements carry a fine.

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