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Betting Battles: Hisbah Police Raids Escalate as Tech Startup Challenges Nigeria’s Betting Leaders

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

sports betting has actually progressed substantially in Nigeria from traditional forms like pool staking and Baba Ijebu to a flourishing sports betting wagering market. Historically connected to European football leagues, sports betting swimming pool staking was a common sight at motor parks and kiosks, where enthusiasts would wager just N50-N200 on matches.

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

In spite of financial obstacles such as inflation, Nigeria’s sports betting sector has actually grown, sports betting bring in millions, especially amongst the youthful group facing high unemployment rates.

Reports show that roughly 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively participate in sports betting wagering, driving a market that generates a projected annual income of N730 billion. The federal government has actually not gone undetected by this development, which is considering regulatory procedures like import tax tasks and VAT boosts to handle the sector.

The National Lottery Act of 2005 established regulatory bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to guarantee fair operations in spite of challenges in enforcement. Problems such as inadequate age verification and marketing guideline breaches reveal industry regulatory gaps.

In spite of these obstacles, sports betting wagering companies continue to flourish through effective business designs and aggressive marketing techniques, leveraging the creator sports betting influencer market.

These efforts have actually contributed to Nigeria’s robust $2 billion gaming sector, with CEOs playing crucial roles in expanding audience reach and driving market growth. Here are the CEOs of leading sports betting wagering companies who have significantly added to Nigeria’s $2 billion gambling empire through their comprehensive 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 varied profession covers various functions in the video gaming and sports betting show business, consisting of working at among the United Kingdom’s largest video gaming centres, sports betting The Palace Bingo Club, where he functioned 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 organization in the wagering and video gaming sector, operating through online, mobile, sports betting and retail channels. The business was integrated in Nigeria on November 7, 2006, and has actually because expanded 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 fully incorporated environment that integrates relevant sports betting material, sports betting engaging functions, and a first-rate sportsbook.

Because taking the helm prior to the pandemic, Sam has driven significant growth for LiveScore Group. The company’s staff member headcount has increased by 29%, and yearly revenue has surged from roughly ₤ 10 million to over ₤ 80 million.

Sam’s management and strategic vision have propelled LiveScore Group’s success and assisted shape the market’s instructions. LiveScoreBet has accomplished major user engagement, sports betting 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 acted as the company’s Marketing and Operations Director because 2015. He signed up with Betway in 2013 and has been in the online video gaming market since 2000, holding different effective roles, consisting of General Manager of a data analytics group and Director of a digital marketing agency.

Under Werkman’s leadership, Betway has continued to grow its market presence and sports betting boost its offerings. The business’s app has actually gathered significant 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 changing start-ups into institutionalized services. Her competence covers the gaming, realty, sports betting and credit financing industries, sports betting where he has actually developed himself as a tactical and operational leader.

Damilare has been instrumental in NairaBET’s success for over 14 years. Because June 2019, she has actually worked as Managing Director and has actually managed 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 methods and sports betting market expansion.

She established DearDammy Women’s Initiative (DDWIN), a non-profit company empowering women-owned services. DDWIN supplies frHer educational background consists of a Bachelor’s degree in Geology/Earth Science from the University of Ibadan, completed in 2005.

Akin Alabi, the creator of NairaBET.com, sports betting Nigeria’s pioneering sports betting bookmaking business, developed the business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the very first sports betting platform in Nigeria, it was the first to launch a completely practical site, setting a criteria 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 international sports betting business based in Cyprus. 1XBET, founded in 2007 by the late Sergey Karshkov, has established itself as one of the largest bookies in Europe and the world. The company runs in more than 50 nations, consisting of Nigeria, where it is totally accredited.

Under Babalola’s leadership, 1XBET Nigeria has actually expanded its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting market, using a large range 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, sports betting and sports betting Chairman of Vend Capital. In addition to leading these endeavors, Ukanwoke has actually collaborated with African socio-economic organizations and federal governments to develop developmental policies aimed at empowering young people. In 2015, Ernst & & Young honoured him as the Winner of the Accelerating Category– World Entrepreneur of the Year.

BetKing, established and sports betting released in Nigeria on February 22, sports betting 2018, by Byron Petzer and Adekunle Adeniji, runs under the trademark name of Lake Ventures Ltd. This pan-African sports betting wagering and home 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 partnership with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, sports betting producing over 100,000 jobs, the variety of which is increasing annually. In the very 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, the creator, bulk shareholder, and sports betting joint Chief Executive of Bet365, an online gambling business she developed in 2000. Bet365.com was released in 2001 as an online sports betting site and has considering that become one of the world’s largest online gambling business.

By 2016, Bet365 created $2 billion in revenues and facilitated $45 billion in yearly bets. The business also holds a bulk stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has amassed 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 business in Nigeria, established together with business owner Kunle Soname, who likewise owns Portuguese club CD Feirense and Nigerian club Remo Stars.

Ojuroye is likewise the Chairman of Mango Asset Management, an independent Nigerian property management company that generates financial investment returns and provides special investment insights and services to both individual and sports betting institutional clients.

Founded in 2012 under KC Gaming Networks, Bet9ja has actually rapidly grown in appeal, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store. Under Ojuroye’s management, Bet9ja has ended up being a significant player in the Nigerian sports betting .

Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet

Fikayo Ogunfuye is a seasoned specialist in the sports betting wagering industry. He has been working as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria considering that June 2021. In this role, he has added to the company’s growth through partnerships, service technique, and brand-new organization development.

Fikayo’s experience includes 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 method and budget plan management. Before 22BET, he led marketing efforts at LuckyBet.NG and held numerous digital marketing functions at Laclic Services and Betty Bingo.

His profession started at Jumia Group, where he worked in SEO, sports betting 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 sports betting 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 live dealership games. It was introduced in 2017 and is owned and operated 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 casinos 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 sports betting real-money gaming operator known for providing an omni-channel entertainment experience in managed emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s leadership, SportyBet has ended up being a significant 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 financier in fintech and mobile payments and a strong advocate for the growing African web ecosystem. His investments reflect his dedication to fostering innovation and development within the region.

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

The company is set to disrupt the sports betting market.

Sunbet Sporting International Limited has stated it is focused on revolutionising how countless Africans engage with sports betting. In a market 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 company intends to leverage advanced innovation and sports betting a dedication to accountable gaming to change the sector.

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

At a press rundown, the company’s representative, Akin Babatunde, stated 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 added that the company’s robust sponsorship and professional team will allow it to scale and control the marketplace quickly.

Islamic cops raid wagering stores in northern Nigeria

Islamic authorities in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have started shutting down sports betting wagering shops, which they state are running unlawfully.

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

Complaints from neighborhood leaders and parents prompted the crackdown, stressed over the growing number of gambling addicts, he said.

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

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

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

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

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

sports betting wagering stores can be found all over the city. Many have tv screens, and clients see the outcome of worldwide football matches or horse races on which they have staked money.

Mr Aminudeen stated such bookies had actually been able to run under the radar as they had opened under false pretences.

“They don’t have licences to operate as they were allowed to run computer game centres, which they later converted to wagering shops,” he stated.

The sports betting wagering industry has broadened drastically across West Africa in recent years. The region is roughly divided between a primarily Muslim north and a primarily Christian south.

Many people go to bookmakers to take pleasure in the friendship of other bettors, though mobile apps are also popular for sports betting on the result of occasions and sports betting groups.

Nigeria’s debilitating economic crisis has also implied individuals are willing to risk a percentage in the hope of winning big.

But this had led to prevalent dependency, and parents were even grumbling that children were leaving of school to bet, Mr Aminudeen said.

“These financial concerns we are facing in Nigeria is God informing us to change our ways by stopping sins,” he said.

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 shops to either shut down or we’ll apprehend them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen stated.

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

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