Disrupting the House: Fresh Firm Confronts Status Quo as Religious Police Raid Betting Outlets

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

sports betting has developed substantially in Nigeria from conventional kinds like pool staking and Baba Ijebu to a thriving sports betting wagering industry. Historically tied to European football leagues, swimming pool staking was a typical sight at motor parks and kiosks, where lovers would wager just N50-N200 on matches.

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

Regardless of economic difficulties such as inflation, Nigeria’s sports betting sector has actually thrived, drawing in millions, especially amongst the youthful market dealing with high joblessness rates.

Reports indicate that around 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively participate in sports betting, driving a market that generates an estimated annual profits of N730 billion. The federal government has not gone undetected by this development, which is considering regulatory measures like import tax tasks and VAT increases to handle the sector.

The National Lottery Act of 2005 recognized regulative bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to make sure reasonable operations despite challenges in enforcement. Concerns such as inadequate age confirmation and marketing guideline breaches reveal industry regulative spaces.

Regardless of these difficulties, sports betting wagering business continue to thrive through reliable company designs and aggressive marketing techniques, leveraging the developer influencer market.

These efforts have contributed to Nigeria’s robust $2 billion gaming sector, with CEOs playing vital functions in broadening audience reach and driving market growth. Here are the CEOs of leading sports betting wagering companies who have actually significantly added to Nigeria’s $2 billion gaming empire through their extensive audience reach.

Constable Olaniyan – CEO Surebet247

Constable Olaniyan is the CEO of Surebet247, a sports betting book company he co-founded with Badmos Olasupo in 2011. His varied career covers different roles in the video gaming and show business, consisting of operating at among the United Kingdom’s biggest gaming centres, The Palace Bingo Club, 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 become a leading e-commerce company in the sports betting and video gaming sector, operating through online, mobile, and sports betting retail channels. The business 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 more than 25 years of experience in wagering brands and sports betting media. In 2019, he ended up being the CEO of LiveScore Group, a totally integrated ecosystem that combines relevant sports betting content, engaging functions, and a world-class sportsbook.

Considering that taking the helm right before the pandemic, Sam has driven substantial development for LiveScore Group. The company’s staff member headcount has increased by 29%, and yearly earnings has surged from approximately ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.

Sam’s leadership and tactical vision have moved LiveScore Group’s success and assisted shape the industry’s direction. LiveScoreBet has actually 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 formerly worked as the company’s Marketing and Operations Director because 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and has actually remained in the online gaming industry because 2000, holding numerous effective functions, including General Manager of a data analytics group and Director of a digital marketing company.

Under Werkman’s management, Betway has actually continued to grow its market existence and boost its offerings. The business’s app has actually gathered considerable user engagement, sports betting with over 100,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

Damilare Alabi, Co-Founder, Managing Director NairaBET

Damilare Alabi has actually distinguished herself as a senior executive with a track record of transforming start-ups into institutionalized businesses. Her expertise covers the gaming, property, and credit loaning industries, where he has developed himself as a strategic and operational leader.

Damilare has actually been instrumental in NairaBET’s success for over 14 years. Considering that June 2019, she has acted as Managing Director and has supervised the company’s growth and operations in Lagos, Nigeria.

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

She founded DearDammy Women’s Initiative (DDWIN), a non-profit organization empowering women-owned companies. DDWIN provides frHer academic background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Geology/Earth Science from the University of Ibadan, 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 release a fully functional website, setting a standard 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 established itself as one of the largest bookmakers in Europe and the world. The company runs in more than 50 nations, including Nigeria, where it is completely certified.

Under Babalola’s management, 1XBET Nigeria has actually expanded its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting market, offering a wide variety of sports betting 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, sports betting Managing Director of KingMakers, and sports betting Chairman of Vend Capital. In addition to leading these endeavors, Ukanwoke has teamed up with African socio-economic organizations and governments to design developmental policies focused on empowering youths. In 2015, Ernst & & Young honoured him as the Winner of the Accelerating Category– World Entrepreneur of the Year.

BetKing, sports betting founded and launched in Nigeria on February 22, 2018, sports betting by Byron Petzer and Adekunle Adeniji, runs 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 significant cities and over 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

In 2020, BetKing participated in a collaboration with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, producing over 100,000 tasks, sports betting the variety of which is increasing every year. In the same year, sports betting 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, sports betting the creator, bulk shareholder, and joint Chief Executive of Bet365, an online gaming business she established in 2000. Bet365.com was introduced in 2001 as an online wagering website and has actually since become one of the world’s biggest online sports betting business.

By 2016, Bet365 produced $2 billion in incomes and sports betting assisted in $45 billion in yearly bets. The company likewise holds a bulk stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has amassed 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 business person Kunle Soname, sports betting 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 produces financial investment returns and provides distinct financial investment insights and options 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, Bet9ja has become a significant player in the Nigerian sports betting market.

Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet

Fikayo Ogunfuye is a seasoned professional in the sports betting market. He has been serving as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria because June 2021. In this role, he has actually added to the business’s growth through collaborations, service method, and brand-new service advancement.

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

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

22Bet is an online sports betting platform that uses sports betting wagering, gambling establishment video games, and live dealership games. It was launched in 2017 and sports betting is owned and run by Marikit Holdings Ltd, a company signed up 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 business he established in 2013.

SportyBet is an international sports betting wagering and real-money video gaming operator understood for delivering an omni-channel entertainment experience in regulated emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s leadership, SportyBet has actually ended up being 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 financial investments reflect his commitment to cultivating innovation and advancement within the region.

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

The firm is set to interfere with 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 annual, with double-digit development forecast in the coming years, according to reports from the African Sports Betting Association and PwC, the firm aims to take advantage of advanced technology and sports betting a dedication to accountable sports betting to revolutionise the sector.

Backed by the monetary power of four prominent African billionaires, Sunbet, which will introduce in the first quarter of 2025, intends to be the continent’s biggest and most innovative sports betting wagering platform.

At a press briefing, the company’s representative, Akin Babatunde, said that the rise in Internet penetration, mobile use, and the continent’s deep passion for sports betting, specifically football, has set the stage for Sunbet’s ambitious entry. He included that the firm’s robust financial backing and sports betting professional team will allow it to scale and dominate the market rapidly.

Islamic police raid wagering stores in northern Nigeria

Islamic police in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have actually begun shutting down sports betting wagering shops, which they say are running unlawfully.

“As you know, sports betting is prohibited in Islam,” Mujahid Aminudeen, deputy chief of the Sharia police force, called the Hisbah, informed the BBC.

Complaints from community leaders and triggered the crackdown, fretted about the growing number of gambling addicts, he said.

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

But Mr Aminudeen alerted that now that the general public was aware that the Hisbah was clamping down on sports betting, sports betting those flouting the rules would be apprehended.

Kano city is the capital of Kano state, which has a bulk Muslim population and operates the Islamic legal system – Sharia – alongside nonreligious law.

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

Nevertheless, the current crackdown is focused on Muslim areas of Kano, a vast city and the financial center of northern Nigeria.

sports betting wagering shops can be discovered all over the city. A lot of have tv screens, and clients watch the result of global football matches or horse races on which they have staked cash.

Mr Aminudeen said such bookies had had the ability to run under the radar as they had actually opened under false pretences.

“They don’t have licences to run as they were allowed to run video games centres, which they later transformed to wagering stores,” he stated.

The sports betting wagering industry has actually broadened dramatically throughout West Africa in the last few years. The area is roughly divided in between a primarily Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south.

Many individuals go to bookies to enjoy the sociability of other gamblers, though mobile apps are likewise popular for wagering on the result of events and teams.

Nigeria’s debilitating economic crisis has actually also suggested individuals are willing to run the risk of a small amount in the hope of winning huge.

But this had led to prevalent dependency, and moms and dads were even complaining that kids were leaving of school to gamble, Mr Aminudeen stated.

“These economic concerns we are facing in Nigeria is God informing us to alter 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 arrest them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen said.

It is unclear what punishment they would deal with – typically, such infringements bring a fine.

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