Inside Nigeria’s Gaming Transformation: CEOs, Challengers, and Cultural Clashes
Meet CEOs/MDs of business behind Nigeria’s $2 billion Sports betting industry.
sports betting has progressed significantly in Nigeria from conventional kinds like pool staking and Baba Ijebu to a thriving sports betting wagering market. Historically tied to European football leagues, sports betting pool staking was a common sight at motor sports betting parks and kiosks, sports betting where enthusiasts would wager as low as N50-N200 on matches.
Slowly, with increased internet access came virtual sports betting, sports betting 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.
In spite of financial challenges such as inflation, Nigeria’s sports betting sector has actually flourished, attracting millions, particularly among the vibrant demographic facing high unemployment rates.
Reports show that roughly 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively take part in sports betting, driving a market that generates an approximated yearly profits of N730 billion. The federal government has not gone unnoticed by this growth, which is considering regulative measures like import tax responsibilities and VAT boosts to handle the sector.
The National Lottery Act of 2005 established regulatory bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to make sure reasonable operations regardless of obstacles in enforcement. Issues such as insufficient age verification and advertising rule breaches reveal market regulatory spaces.
In spite of these obstacles, sports betting companies continue to grow through efficient company designs and aggressive marketing techniques, leveraging the developer influencer industry.
These efforts have contributed to Nigeria’s robust $2 billion gambling sector, sports betting with CEOs playing essential functions in expanding audience reach and driving market growth. Here are the CEOs of leading sports betting companies who have actually considerably contributed to Nigeria’s $2 billion gaming empire through their extensive 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 career covers different functions in the video gaming and show business, including working at among the United Kingdom’s largest gaming centres, The Palace Bingo Club, where he worked as the Lead Engineer in a Bingo and Bowling Club.
Olaniyan holds a BSc in Geography from the University of Ilorin and sports betting 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 organization in the wagering and video gaming sector, running through online, mobile, sports betting and retail channels. The business was incorporated in Nigeria on November 7, 2006, and has since expanded its existence, attaining 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 brands and sports betting media. In 2019, he became the CEO of LiveScore Group, a totally integrated ecosystem that combines appropriate sports betting content, engaging features, and a world-class sportsbook.
Since taking the helm prior to the pandemic, Sam has actually driven substantial development for LiveScore Group. The company’s worker headcount has increased by 29%, and annual earnings has surged from roughly ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.
Sam’s management and tactical vision have actually moved LiveScore Group’s success and assisted shape the market’s direction. LiveScoreBet has actually attained significant user engagement, sports betting 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 considering that 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and sports betting has actually remained in the online gaming industry considering that 2000, holding numerous successful functions, including General Manager of a data analytics group and Director of a digital marketing company.
Under Werkman’s management, Betway has continued to grow its market presence and boost its offerings. The company’s app has gathered considerable user engagement, with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.
Damilare Alabi, Co-Founder, Managing Director NairaBET
Damilare Alabi has distinguished herself as a senior executive with a performance history of transforming start-ups into institutionalized services. Her competence spans the video gaming, real estate, and credit financing markets, where he has established himself as a tactical and operational leader.
Damilare has actually been instrumental in NairaBET’s success for over 14 years. Given that June 2019, she has actually functioned as Managing Director sports betting and has actually managed the company’s development and operations in Lagos, Nigeria.
Before this, she was the Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to June 2019, pivotal in the business’s operational strategies and market expansion.
She established DearDammy Women’s Initiative (DDWIN), a non-profit organization empowering women-owned businesses. DDWIN supplies frHer academic background includes 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 business, established the business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the very first sports betting platform in Nigeria, it was the very first to release a fully functional website, setting a benchmark 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 business based in Cyprus. 1XBET, founded in 2007 by the late Sergey Karshkov, has actually developed itself as one of the biggest bookies in Europe and the world. The company runs in more than 50 countries, consisting of Nigeria, where it is completely licensed.
Under Babalola’s management, 1XBET Nigeria has actually expanded its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting wagering market, providing a wide variety of wagering 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, sports betting Managing Director of KingMakers, and Chairman of Vend Capital. In addition to leading these ventures, Ukanwoke has actually teamed up with African socio-economic organizations and federal governments to create developmental policies focused on empowering young people. In 2015, Ernst & & Young honoured him as the Winner of the Accelerating Category– World Entrepreneur of the Year.
BetKing, founded and released 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 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 entered into a partnership with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, sports betting producing over 100,000 tasks, the number of which is increasing each 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 founder, bulk investor, sports betting and joint Chief Executive of Bet365, an online gaming business she established in 2000. Bet365.com was introduced in 2001 as an online wagering site and has actually because turned into among the world’s biggest online gaming business.
By 2016, Bet365 created $2 billion in incomes and helped with $45 billion in annual bets. The company likewise holds a majority stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has gathered considerable 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 person Kunle Soname, who likewise 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 investment returns and uses unique financial investment insights and options to both individual and institutional customers.
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 leadership, Bet9ja has actually become a significant gamer in the Nigerian sports betting industry.
Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet
Fikayo Ogunfuye is a skilled specialist in the sports betting wagering industry. He has actually been functioning as the Country Director sports betting for 22BET in Nigeria given that June 2021. In this role, he has contributed to the company’s development through collaborations, service method, and sports betting new business development.
Fikayo’s experience consists of functions such as Chief Operations Officer (West Africa) at 22BET, where he managed product development and consumer experience, and Country Manager at 22BET, focusing on marketing technique and spending plan management. Before 22BET, he led marketing efforts at LuckyBet.NG and held different digital marketing roles at Laclic Services and Betty Bingo.
His career started at Jumia Group, where he worked 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 gaming platform that provides sports betting, gambling establishment games, and sports betting live dealership video games. It was released in 2017 and is owned and run by Marikit Holdings Ltd, a company registered in Cyprus and sports betting 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 worldwide sports betting wagering and real-money gaming operator known for sports betting providing an omni-channel home entertainment experience in regulated emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s management, SportyBet has become a considerable player 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 supporter for the growing African web community. His investments reflect his commitment to cultivating development and advancement within the region.
On April 30, 2024, Sudeep Ramnani purchased Chowdeck, participating in a seed round valued at $2.5 million.
The company is set to interfere with the sports wagering 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 development projection in the coming years, according to reports from the African Sports Betting Association and PwC, the firm aims to leverage innovative innovation and sports betting a commitment to responsible 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, aims to be the continent’s largest and most ingenious sports betting wagering platform.
At a press rundown, the spokesperson, Akin Babatunde, said that the rise 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 firm’s robust financial backing and professional team will allow it to scale and sports betting control the market rapidly.
Islamic authorities raid betting stores in northern Nigeria
Islamic police in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have actually begun closing down sports betting shops, which they state are operating unlawfully.
“As you know, wagering is prohibited in Islam,” Mujahid Aminudeen, sports betting deputy chief of the Sharia police, known as the Hisbah, informed the BBC.
Complaints from neighborhood leaders and parents triggered the crackdown, worried about the growing variety of gambling addicts, he stated.
On the very first day of raids, 30 shops were closed in one residential area alone, sports betting and sports betting their owners were sent out home with a warning, the Sharia officer stated.
But Mr Aminudeen cautioned 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 runs the Islamic legal system – Sharia – alongside nonreligious law.
Bookies and bars tend to be permitted to run in Kano’s Christian neighbourhoods, though they too can deal with action if the Hisbah believes Muslims are frequenting them.
Nevertheless, the present crackdown is concentrated on Muslim locations of Kano, a vast city and the economic hub of northern Nigeria.
Sports betting shops can be discovered all over the city. Many have tv screens, and customers watch the result of worldwide football matches or horse races on which they have staked money.
Mr Aminudeen said such bookies had actually been able to operate under the radar as they had opened under false pretenses.
“They do not have licences to operate as they were permitted to run video games centres, which they later on transformed to sports betting shops,” he stated.
The sports betting industry has expanded significantly across West Africa in recent years. The area is roughly divided in between a primarily Muslim north and a primarily Christian south.
Many individuals go to bookmakers to enjoy the sociability of other gamblers, though mobile apps are also popular for sports betting on the result of occasions and groups.
Nigeria’s debilitating recession has also suggested individuals want to risk a small amount in the hope of winning big.
But this had actually led to widespread addiction, sports betting and moms and sports betting dads were even complaining that kids were dropping out of school to gamble, Mr Aminudeen said.
“These economic issues we are dealing with in Nigeria is God informing us to change our ways by stopping sins,” he said.
The raids on Tuesday concentrated on Munjibir, considered a resort area in the northeast of the city– visitors flock there at weekends.
“I am encouraging those running those sports betting shops to either closed down or we’ll jail them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen said.
It is uncertain what penalty they would deal with – typically, such infringements bring a fine.
Sharia was presented in Kano in 2000 – as it remained in 11 other Muslim-majority northern states – and prostitution, sports betting and the consumption of alcohol were prohibited.
