Economy
Stock Trading Versus Sports Betting; The Differences and Similarities
By Samuel Ighoyota Akporhiunuvwiyo
There is a growing population of betting companies in Nigeria. This is a result of increase in the number of betters in Nigeria. At a time in the country, it was only just pool betting, but as of today, we have seen a rise in the number of betting companies; the likes of Nairabets, Bet9ja, Accessbet, Blackbet, etc come to mind.
It is a common belief by betters that betting is a good way of raising money or getting additional income to solve their financial needs. To some, this is correct, while to others, this is far from the truth.
What is Sports Betting
According to Wikipedia, sports betting is the activity of predicting results of sporting activities and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of bookmaking varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on football also known as soccer, American football, basketball, baseball, hockey, track cycling, auto racing, mixed martial arts, and boxing at both the amateur and professional levels.
Sports betting can also extend to non-athletic events, such as reality shows and political elections, and non-human contests such as horse racing, greyhound racing, and illegal, underground cockfighting. It is not uncommon for sports betting websites to offer wagers for entertainment events such as the Grammy Awards, the Oscars, and the Emmy Awards.
What is Stock Trading
Stock trading is the buying and selling of shares of companies on a regulated platform like the stock exchange.
At the stock market, owners of a certain company’s equities look for willing buyers, with the different bodies earning certain percentages as commission for the transaction. These shares are traded for various reasons, depending on the prevailing conditions when the trading took place.
For example, when in need of funds to sort out an urgent obligation, you could place an order to exchange your shares for cash and this could come at a loss to the seller. In another way, an information like the recent from Dangote Flour and Forte Oil could trigger the demand for a company stock, which will result in the price going up. For willing seller who bought at a relatively cheap price, it could be time to take profit.
Similarities Between Sports Betting and Stock Trading
Sports betting and Stock Trading exhibit some level of similarities and one of them is the Skill Based Gambling
In as much as there is a slight difference between stock trading and sports betting, they both carry a potential for gains and losses. This means they both manage some level of risk, gambling, and predictions. They both require a level of research too, although, methodology differs.
Comparative Returns
They both exhibit potentials of a favourable return on investment, although, sports betting typically involves several losses followed by a big return of 100 percent or more or less. Whether this covers the cost of all lost bets depends on a specific situation, but average performance produces approximately a 5 percent loss over time. Returns also depend on the risk appetite of the player.
Differences Between Sports Betting and Stock Trading
One of the major differences between the two forms of ‘investment’ is that while stock trading is normally carried out during working days, sports betting can extend to non-working days, including public holidays.
Another difference is about legality. While stock trading is legal in almost every country and backed by law, the same is not with sports betting, which is illegal in some countries.
A Rigged Game
One major difference between sports betting and the stock trading is the way the professionals make money. Publicly traded companies make money by doing business. As they get wealthy, their investors also reap benefits in form of dividend payment usually paid at the end of a financial year. Some companies also pay what is called interim dividend, which is paid before the end of the fiscal year.
But for sports bookies, they make money when people lose bets. They set the odds specifically to make people lose more money overall than they win. This is one of the key reasons only one of these practices is legal throughout the United States, Although, betters can avoid or reduce this by lowering their risk appetite. The higher the odd the riskier the bet.
Another big difference between sports betting and stock trading is that the former is highly addictive. It is often said that there is ‘an evil spirit’ attached to sports betting, which make betters sell their belongings to place bets with the hope of winning big.
Having highlighted the similarities and differences between sports betting and stock trading, it is advisable for the growing population of Nigeria to explore the opportunities in trading in the Nigerian stock market because it is less risky than sports betting and is also more regulated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
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