Meet CEOs/MDs of business behind Nigeria's $2 billion Sports betting industry.
Gaming has actually developed substantially in Nigeria from standard types like pool staking and sports betting Baba Ijebu to a thriving sports betting industry. Historically tied to European football leagues, swimming pool staking was a common sight at motor parks and kiosks, where enthusiasts would wager just N50-N200 on matches.
Slowly, with increased internet gain access to came virtual wagering, which parallels international trends. 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.
Regardless of financial challenges such as inflation, Nigeria's sports betting sector sports betting has actually thrived, drawing in millions, sports betting particularly among the youthful group facing high joblessness rates.
Reports suggest that around 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively engage in sports betting wagering, driving a market that produces an estimated annual earnings of N730 billion. The federal government has not gone unnoticed by this growth, which is considering regulative procedures like excise duties and VAT boosts to manage the sector.
The National Lottery Act of 2005 recognized regulatory bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to make sure reasonable operations despite difficulties in enforcement. Concerns such as inadequate age confirmation and marketing rule breaches show market regulatory spaces.
Despite these challenges, sports betting companies continue to flourish through efficient organization designs and aggressive marketing methods, leveraging the developer influencer market.
These efforts have added to Nigeria's robust $2 billion gambling sector, with CEOs playing vital functions in expanding audience reach and driving market development. Here are the CEOs of leading sports betting wagering business who have considerably contributed to Nigeria's $2 billion gambling empire through their substantial audience reach.
Sheriff Olaniyan - CEO Surebet247
Constable Olaniyan is the CEO of Surebet247, a sports betting book business he co-founded with Badmos Olasupo in 2011. His diverse career covers various roles in the gaming and show business, consisting of operating at among the United Kingdom's biggest 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 a Master's in Geographical Information Systems from the University of Glamorgan, sports betting Wales. Surebet247, founded in August 2011, has grown into a leading e-commerce service in the sports betting and video gaming sector, running through online, mobile, and retail channels. The business was integrated in Nigeria on November 7, 2006, and has actually because expanded 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 wagering brands and sports betting media. In 2019, he became the CEO of LiveScore Group, a completely incorporated environment that combines appropriate sports betting content, engaging features, and sports betting a first-rate sportsbook.
Because taking the helm right before the pandemic, sports betting Sam has driven considerable development for LiveScore Group. The business's employee headcount has increased by 29%, and yearly income has risen from roughly ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.
Sam's management and strategic vision have actually propelled LiveScore Group's success and assisted form the industry's direction. LiveScoreBet has actually attained major user engagement, sports betting 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 formerly acted as the business's Marketing and sports betting Operations Director because 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and has actually been in the online gaming industry because 2000, holding various effective functions, sports betting consisting of General Manager of an information analytics group and Director of a digital marketing agency.
Under Werkman's management, Betway has actually continued to grow its market existence and enhance its offerings. The business's app has actually gathered substantial user engagement, with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.
Damilare Alabi, Co-Founder, Managing Director NairaBET
Damilare Alabi has identified herself as a senior executive with a track record of changing start-ups into institutionalized businesses. Her proficiency covers the gaming, realty, and credit financing markets, where he has developed himself as a tactical and functional leader.
Damilare has been instrumental in NairaBET's success for over 14 years. Given that June 2019, she has worked 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 functional techniques and market growth.
She founded DearDammy Women's Initiative (DDWIN), a non-profit organization empowering women-owned businesses. DDWIN supplies frHer educational background includes a Bachelor's degree in Geology/Earth Science from the University of Ibadan, finished in 2005.
Akin Alabi, the creator of NairaBET.com, Nigeria's pioneering sports betting bookmaking company, established the business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the first sports betting wagering platform in Nigeria, it was the first to release a fully functional website, setting a benchmark 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 wagering company based in Cyprus. 1XBET, founded in 2007 by the late Sergey Karshkov, sports betting has actually established itself as one of the largest bookies in Europe and the world. The company operates in more than 50 countries, consisting of Nigeria, where it is fully licensed.
Under Babalola's management, 1XBET Nigeria has broadened its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting wagering market, sports betting providing a large range of sports betting 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 organizations and federal governments to develop developmental policies targeted at empowering youths. 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 brand name of Lake Ventures Ltd. This pan-African sports betting 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 participated in a partnership with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, developing over 100,000 jobs, the variety 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 gambling business she developed in 2000. Bet365.com was launched in 2001 as an online wagering site and has actually because grown into among the world's biggest online gaming companies.
By 2016, Bet365 created $2 billion in profits and facilitated $45 billion in yearly bets. The business also holds a majority stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has gathered significant 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 also owns Portuguese club CD Feirense and Nigerian club Remo Stars.
Ojuroye is likewise the Chairman of Mango Asset Management, sports betting an independent Nigerian asset management company that creates investment returns and offers unique financial investment insights and sports betting services to both individual and institutional customers.
Founded in 2012 under KC Gaming Networks, Bet9ja has actually rapidly grown in popularity, sports betting with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store. Under Ojuroye's leadership, Bet9ja has actually ended up being a considerable gamer in the Nigerian sports betting industry.
Fikayo Ogunfuye - Country Director 22bet
Fikayo Ogunfuye is a seasoned expert in the sports betting wagering market. He has been acting as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria since June 2021. In this function, he has contributed to the business's growth through partnerships, organization technique, and new company development.
Fikayo's experience consists of roles such as Chief Operations Officer (West Africa) at 22BET, where he managed item development and customer experience, and Country Manager at 22BET, focusing on marketing technique and budget plan management. Before 22BET, he led marketing efforts at LuckyBet.NG and held numerous digital marketing roles at Laclic Services and sports betting Betty Bingo.
His career began at Jumia Group, where he worked in SEO, CRM, sports betting 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 Accounting from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology and a Master of Science (MS) in Business Administration, Management, sports betting 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 launched in 2017 and sports betting is owned and operated by Marikit Holdings Ltd, sports betting a company signed up in Cyprus and a subsidiary of Orakum N.V.. They are likewise 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 an international sports betting wagering and real-money gaming operator known for providing an omni-channel entertainment experience in managed emerging markets. Under Ramnani's leadership, sports betting SportyBet has 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 ecosystem. His financial investments show his commitment to fostering development and development 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 interfere with the sports wagering industry.
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, sports betting with double-digit growth projection in the coming years, according to reports from the African Sports Betting Association and PwC, the firm intends to take advantage of advanced innovation and sports betting a commitment to accountable gaming to change the sector.
Backed by the financial power of 4 popular African billionaires, Sunbet, which will launch in the first quarter of 2025, aims to be the continent's biggest and most ingenious sports betting platform.
At a press instruction, the business's spokesperson, Akin Babatunde, stated that the increase in Internet penetration, mobile usage, and the continent's deep enthusiasm for sports betting, especially football, has actually set the stage for sports betting Sunbet's ambitious entry. He added that the firm's robust sponsorship and expert team will enable it to scale and dominate the marketplace rapidly.
Islamic police raid betting stores in northern Nigeria
Islamic authorities in Nigeria's northern city of Kano have begun closing down sports betting wagering shops, which they state are running unlawfully.
"As you know, wagering is forbidden in Islam," Mujahid Aminudeen, deputy chief of the Sharia police, referred to as the Hisbah, told the BBC.
Problems from neighborhood leaders and parents triggered the crackdown, fretted about the growing variety of sports betting addicts, he stated.
On the 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 stated.
However Mr Aminudeen cautioned that now that the general public understood that the Hisbah was clamping down on gambling, sports betting those flouting the guidelines would be detained.
Kano city is the capital of Kano state, which has a majority Muslim population and runs the Islamic legal system - Sharia - alongside nonreligious law.
Bookmakers and bars tend to be allowed to operate in Kano's Christian neighbourhoods, sports betting though they too can face action if the Hisbah believes Muslims are frequenting them.
Nevertheless, the current crackdown is concentrated on Muslim areas of Kano, sports betting a vast city and the financial hub of northern Nigeria.
Sports betting stores can be discovered all over the city. Most have television screens, and customers enjoy the result of global football matches or horse races on which they have actually staked money.
Mr Aminudeen said such bookmakers had actually had the ability to run under the radar as they had opened under false pretenses.
"They do not have licences to run as they were allowed to run computer game centres, which they later on transformed to wagering stores," he said.
The sports betting wagering industry has broadened dramatically throughout West Africa recently. The area is approximately divided in between a mainly Muslim north and a primarily Christian south.
Many individuals go to bookmakers to take pleasure in the friendship of other gamblers, though mobile apps are also popular for sports betting on the result of occasions and groups.
Nigeria's crippling economic crisis has actually likewise suggested individuals want to run the risk of a percentage in the hope of winning big.
But this had resulted in widespread dependency, and moms and dads were even grumbling that children were leaving of school to gamble, Mr Aminudeen said.
"These economic issues we are facing in Nigeria is God informing 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 wagering stores to either shut down or we'll arrest them and take them to [a Sharia] court," Mr Aminudeen said.
It is unclear what punishment they would deal with - frequently, such violations bring a fine.
Sharia was introduced in Kano in 2000 - as it was in 11 other Muslim-majority northern states - and prostitution, sports betting and the usage of alcohol were prohibited.
