Nigeria’s N2 Billion Sports Betting Battle: CEOs Face Islamic Crackdown as New Disruptor Emerges

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

Gaming has actually progressed significantly in Nigeria from traditional kinds like pool staking and Baba Ijebu to a flourishing sports betting industry. Historically tied to European football leagues, pool staking was a typical sight at motor parks and kiosks, where lovers would bet as little as N50-N200 on matches.

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

Regardless of economic challenges such as inflation, Nigeria’s sports betting wagering sector has actually prospered, attracting millions, specifically amongst the younger demographic dealing with high joblessness rates.

Reports show that approximately 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively engage in sports betting, sports betting driving a market that generates an approximated yearly profits of N730 billion. The federal government has not gone unnoticed by this development, which is about regulative procedures like excise tasks and VAT increases to manage the sector.

The National Lottery Act of 2005 established regulatory bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to guarantee fair operations in spite of obstacles in enforcement. Concerns such as inadequate age verification and marketing guideline breaches show industry regulatory spaces.

In spite of these challenges, sports betting business continue to prosper through effective organization designs and aggressive marketing methods, leveraging the creator influencer industry.

These efforts have actually contributed to Nigeria’s robust $2 billion gaming sector, with CEOs playing essential roles in expanding audience reach and driving industry growth. Here are the CEOs of leading sports betting wagering companies who have actually considerably contributed to Nigeria’s $2 billion gambling empire through their substantial 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 career spans numerous roles in the gaming and show business, including operating at among the United Kingdom’s largest video 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 service 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 given that broadened its existence, accomplishing 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 sports betting names and sports betting media. In 2019, he became the CEO of LiveScore Group, a totally integrated community that combines appropriate sports betting material, sports betting engaging features, and a world-class sportsbook.

Because taking the helm right before the pandemic, Sam has driven substantial development for LiveScore Group. The company’s employee headcount has increased by 29%, and yearly profits has risen from approximately ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.

Sam’s management and strategic vision have moved LiveScore Group’s success and assisted form the industry’s instructions. LiveScoreBet has achieved 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 previously acted as the company’s Marketing and Operations Director since 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and has actually remained in the online video gaming industry because 2000, holding numerous effective functions, consisting of General Manager of a data analytics team and Director sports betting 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 amassed significant 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 executive with a performance history of changing start-ups into institutionalized organizations. Her proficiency covers the gaming, sports betting real estate, and credit loaning industries, sports betting where he has actually developed himself as a strategic and operational leader.

Damilare has actually been instrumental in NairaBET’s success for sports betting over 14 years. Since June 2019, she has actually served as Managing Director and has managed the business’s development and operations in Lagos, Nigeria.

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

She established DearDammy Women’s Initiative (DDWIN), a non-profit company empowering women-owned services. DDWIN offers frHer academic background consists of 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 first to launch a completely 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 global 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 business operates in more than 50 countries, consisting of Nigeria, where it is totally accredited.

Under Babalola’s management, 1XBET Nigeria has expanded its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting wagering market, offering a wide variety of wagering options and 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, Ukanwoke has actually worked together with African socio-economic institutions and federal governments to develop 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, operates under the brand name of Lake Ventures Ltd. This pan-African sports betting wagering and entertainment business has quickly grown its existence 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, creating over 100,000 tasks, the number of which is increasing yearly. In the exact same year, MultiChoice broadcaster bought a 20% stake in BetKing, which was increased to 49% in 2021.

Denise Coates – CEO Bet 365

Denise Coates is a British billionaire businesswoman, sports betting the creator, bulk investor, and joint Chief Executive of Bet365, an online gambling business she established in 2000. Bet365.com was released in 2001 as an online wagering website and sports betting has actually since become one of the world’s largest online sports betting companies.

By 2016, Bet365 generated $2 billion in incomes and facilitated $45 billion in yearly bets. The business likewise holds a bulk stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has 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 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 possession management company that generates investment returns and provides distinct financial investment insights and sports betting solutions to both individual and institutional customers.

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 leadership, sports betting Bet9ja has ended up being a significant gamer in the Nigerian sports betting wagering market.

Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet

Fikayo Ogunfuye is an experienced expert in the sports betting market. He has actually been serving as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria given that June 2021. In this role, he has actually added to the business’s growth through collaborations, business technique, sports betting and brand-new company development.

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

His profession began at Jumia Group, where he worked in SEO, CRM, and content management. Fikayo likewise functioned 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, sports betting Management, and Operations from ESTG University in Cotonou, Benin Republic.

22Bet is an online sports betting platform that offers sports betting wagering, casino games, and live dealership games. It was introduced in 2017 and sports betting is owned and run by Marikit Holdings Ltd, a business 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 CEO of SportyBet, a company he established in 2013.

SportyBet is a global sports betting and real-money gaming operator understood for delivering an omni-channel home entertainment experience in managed emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s leadership, SportyBet has actually become 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 advocate for sports betting the growing African web ecosystem. His financial investments show his commitment to cultivating innovation and development within the area.

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

The firm is set to interfere with the sports betting market.

Sunbet Sporting International Limited has said it is concentrated on changing how countless Africans engage with sports betting. In an industry worth over $1.5 billion yearly, sports betting with double-digit development projection in the coming years, according to reports from the African Sports Betting Association and PwC, the firm aims to take advantage of cutting-edge technology and a commitment to accountable sports betting to change the sector.

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

At a press briefing, the company’s representative, Akin Babatunde, said that the increase in Internet penetration, mobile usage, 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 specialist team will enable it to scale and control the market rapidly.

Islamic authorities raid wagering shops in northern Nigeria

Islamic cops in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have actually begun closing down sports betting stores, which they state are operating unlawfully.

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

Grievances from neighborhood leaders and parents triggered the crackdown, stressed over the growing number of sports betting addicts, he stated.

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

But Mr Aminudeen warned that now that the general public knew that the Hisbah was clamping down on gaming, sports betting 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.

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

Nevertheless, the existing crackdown is focused on Muslim locations of Kano, a vast city and the economic hub of northern Nigeria.

sports betting wagering shops can be discovered all over the city. The majority of have tv screens, and customers see the outcome of global football matches or horse races on which they have staked money.

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

“They do not have licences to operate as they were allowed to run video games centres, which they later on converted to wagering shops,” he stated.

The sports betting industry has actually broadened considerably throughout West Africa recently. The region is approximately divided in between a mainly Muslim north and a primarily Christian south.

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

Nigeria’s crippling economic crisis has actually likewise implied people are willing to risk a percentage in the hope of winning big.

But this had actually led to prevalent addiction, sports betting and parents were even grumbling that kids were dropping out of school to bet, Mr Aminudeen said.

“These economic problems we are dealing with in Nigeria is God telling us to change our ways 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 recommending those running those sports betting stores to either shut down or we’ll detain them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen said.

It is uncertain what punishment they would deal with – frequently, such violations carry a fine.

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