Gaming Moguls Under Pressure: Fresh Player Enters as Northern Nigeria Tightens Betting Controls

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

Gaming has actually 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, swimming pool staking was a common sight at motor parks and kiosks, where lovers would bet as low as N50-N200 on matches.

Gradually, with increased internet access came virtual wagering, which parallels global 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 economic obstacles such as inflation, Nigeria’s sports betting sector has flourished, bring in millions, especially among the youthful market dealing with high joblessness 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 revenue of N730 billion. The federal government has actually not gone undetected by this development, which is considering regulative measures like import tax duties and sports betting VAT increases to manage the sector.

The National Lottery Act of 2005 established regulative bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to guarantee reasonable operations in spite of difficulties in enforcement. Concerns such as inadequate age confirmation and breaches reveal market regulatory gaps.

Despite these difficulties, sports betting companies continue to grow through reliable organization designs and aggressive marketing techniques, leveraging the creator influencer market.

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

Constable 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 covers numerous functions in the video gaming and entertainment industry, sports betting consisting of working at among the United Kingdom’s biggest gaming centres, The Palace Bingo Club, sports betting where he acted 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 turned into a leading e-commerce company in the sports betting and gaming sector, running through online, mobile, and retail channels. The business was included in Nigeria on November 7, 2006, and has actually considering that broadened its existence, sports betting achieving over 5,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

Sam Sadi – CEO Livescorebet

Sam Sadi has more than 25 years of experience in sports betting brand names and sports betting media. In 2019, he ended up being the CEO of LiveScore Group, a totally incorporated environment that integrates appropriate sports betting content, engaging features, and a world-class sportsbook.

Since taking the helm prior to the pandemic, Sam has actually driven significant development for LiveScore Group. The company’s staff member headcount has increased by 29%, and annual profits has surged from around ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.

Sam’s management and strategic vision have moved LiveScore Group’s success and helped form the industry’s instructions. LiveScoreBet has accomplished significant 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 formerly worked as the company’s Marketing and Operations Director since 2015. He joined Betway in 2013 and has been in the online gaming market since 2000, holding different effective functions, consisting of General Manager of an information analytics group and Director of a digital marketing agency.

Under Werkman’s leadership, Betway has actually continued to grow its market existence and improve 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 companies. Her competence covers the gaming, realty, and credit lending industries, where he has established himself as a strategic and operational leader.

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

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

She founded DearDammy Women’s Initiative (DDWIN), a non-profit organization empowering women-owned businesses. DDWIN offers frHer academic background consists of 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 company, established business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the first sports betting platform in Nigeria, it was the first to release 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 company 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 operates in more than 50 countries, including Nigeria, where it is fully certified.

Under Babalola’s management, 1XBET Nigeria has actually broadened 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 ventures, Ukanwoke has teamed up with African socio-economic organizations and federal governments to create developmental policies targeted at empowering young people. In 2015, Ernst & & Young honoured him as the Winner of the Accelerating Category– World Entrepreneur of the Year.

BetKing, founded and introduced in Nigeria on February 22, 2018, by Byron Petzer and Adekunle Adeniji, runs under the brand sports betting name of Lake Ventures Ltd. This pan-African sports betting and home entertainment business has rapidly grown its presence in Nigeria, with outlets in significant cities and over 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

In 2020, BetKing participated in a partnership with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, developing over 100,000 tasks, the number of which is increasing annually. 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, majority shareholder, 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 site and has because turned into among the world’s biggest online gambling companies.

By 2016, Bet365 created $2 billion in earnings and helped with $45 billion in yearly bets. The business also holds a majority stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has amassed considerable 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 sports betting co-founder of Bet9ja, a leading sports betting business in Nigeria, developed along with businessman 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 generates financial investment returns and offers special investment insights and services to both private and sports betting institutional customers.

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

Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet

Fikayo Ogunfuye is an experienced expert in the sports betting wagering industry. He has actually been working as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria given that June 2021. In this function, he has contributed to the company’s development through partnerships, business technique, and brand-new service advancement.

Fikayo’s experience includes roles such as Chief Operations Officer (West Africa) at 22BET, where he managed product advancement and consumer experience, and Country Manager at 22BET, focusing on marketing strategy and budget management. Before 22BET, he led marketing efforts at LuckyBet.NG and held different digital marketing functions at Laclic Services and Betty Bingo.

His profession started at Jumia Group, where he worked in SEO, CRM, sports betting 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 gaming platform that uses sports betting, gambling establishment video games, and sports betting live dealer video 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 casinos worldwide.

Sudeep Ramnani– CEO Sportybet Group

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

SportyBet is a worldwide sports betting wagering and real-money video gaming operator known for delivering an omni-channel home entertainment experience in regulated emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s leadership, SportyBet has actually become a substantial gamer in the market, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store.

In addition to his role at SportyBet, Sudeep is an active financier in fintech and mobile payments and a strong advocate for the growing African internet community. His investments reflect his commitment to cultivating development and advancement within the area.

On April 30, 2024, Sudeep Ramnani purchased Chowdeck, participating in a seed round valued at $2.5 million.

The firm is set to interrupt the sports wagering industry.

Sunbet Sporting International Limited has said it is concentrated on revolutionising how countless Africans engage with sports betting. In an industry worth over $1.5 billion yearly, with double-digit growth forecast in the coming years, according to reports from the African Sports Betting Association and PwC, the company aims to leverage cutting-edge technology and sports betting a dedication to responsible gaming to revolutionise the sector.

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

At a press briefing, the business’s representative, Akin Babatunde, said that the rise in Internet penetration, mobile usage, and sports betting the continent’s deep passion for sports betting, particularly football, has actually set the stage for Sunbet’s ambitious entry. He added that the company’s robust financial backing and specialist group will allow it to scale and control the market quickly.

Islamic police raid wagering shops in northern Nigeria

Islamic cops in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have begun shutting down sports betting wagering stores, which they say are running illegally.

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

Complaints from community leaders and parents triggered the crackdown, stressed over the growing variety of sports betting addicts, he stated.

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

However Mr Aminudeen alerted that now that the public knew 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 – together with nonreligious law.

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

Nevertheless, the current crackdown is focused on Muslim areas of Kano, a sprawling city and the economic hub of northern Nigeria.

Sports betting stores can be found all over the city. Most have television screens, and clients watch the outcome of worldwide football matches or horse races on which they have actually staked cash.

Mr Aminudeen stated such bookmakers had had the ability to operate 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 stores,” he stated.

The sports betting industry has expanded significantly across West Africa in the last few years. The region is roughly divided in between a generally Muslim north and a mainly Christian south.

Many people go to bookies to delight in the friendship of other gamblers, though mobile apps are also popular for wagering on the outcome of events and sports betting teams.

Nigeria’s debilitating recession has actually likewise suggested individuals are willing to risk a small amount in the hope of winning big.

However this had caused widespread dependency, and moms and dads were even grumbling that kids were leaving of school to gamble, Mr Aminudeen said.

“These economic problems we are facing in Nigeria is God telling us to alter our ways by stopping sins,” he stated.

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 advising those running those sports betting stores to either closed down or we’ll apprehend them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen said.

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

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