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
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.24 per cent on Friday, April 25 after the duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Afriland Properties Plc landed on the losers’ table.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N2.58 to sell at N35.37 per unit compared with the previous day’s N37.95 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 2 Kobo to close at N17.78 per share versus Thursday’s closing value of N17.80 per share.
However, Geo-Fluids Plc appreciated by 10 Kobo during the trading day to sell for N1.80 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.70 per unit. The rise in the price of the stock could not prevent the fall of the bourse yesterday.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform went down by N4.64 billion to N1.914 trillion from N1.918 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 7.92 points to 3,269.06 points from 3,276.98 points.
The final trading session of the week ended with a surge of 1,695.8 per cent in the volume of securities transacted to 3.7 billion units from the 206.2 milion units transacted in the previous trading day.
Equally, the value of transactions jumped by 2,592.6 per cent to N9.5 billion from N354.1 million on Thursday, and the number of deals decreased by 47.4 per cent to 20 deals from the 38 deals recorded a day earlier.
Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 259.3 million units worth N456.1 million, and Okitipupa Plc with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion.
Also, Okitipupa Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 153.6 million units valued at N4.9 billion, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 15.6 million units worth N598.5 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 533.9 million units sold for N520.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.30 per cent fall was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday as a result of profit-taking in the industrial goods sector.
This was mainly caused by sell-offs in Dangote Cement Plc, which released its financial statements for the first quarter of 2025 yesterday.
The cement maker lost 10.00 per cent during the session to trade at N432.00, Regency Alliance lost 8.06 per cent to close at 57 Kobo, VFD Group depreciated by 7.57 per cent to N17.10, Chams declined by 7.27 per cent to N2.04, and Sovereign Trust Insurance crashed by 6.12 per cent to 92 Kobo.
Conversely, International Breweries, Legend Internet, and Ikeja Hotel gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N7.70, N6.82, and N12.10 apiece, Vitafoam Nigeria surged by 9.93 per cent to N44.85, and Eterna rose by 9.92 per cent to N39.90.
The industrial goods index was down by 4.73 per cent on Friday, as the others finished in green territory.
The consumer goods space rose by 2.21 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 1.55 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 1.50 per cent, the energy sector increased by 0.07 per cent, and the commodity industry went up by 0.04 per cent.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 321.21 points to 105,753.05 points from 106,074.26 points and the market capitalisation shrank by N202 billion to N66.465 trillion from N66.667 trillion.
The level of activity increased yesterday as the trading volume, value, and number of deals grew by 30.40 per cent, 94.23 per cent, and 17.64 per cent, respectively.
This was because investors transacted 428.1 million shares worth N20.2 billion in 14,284 deals compared with the 328.3 million shares valued at N10.4 billion in traded in 12,142 deals a day earlier.
GTCO led the activity chart with 60.7 million equities sold for N3.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 41.4 million stocks worth N829.3 million, Access Holdings exchanged 40.6 million shares valued at N968.3 million, MTN Nigeria sold 33.0 million equities for N8.2 billion, and Zenith Bank transacted 22.9 million stocks worth N1.1 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its gains against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, April 25 by 0.22 per cent or N3.59 to sell for N1,599.42/$1 compared with the N1,603.01/$1 it was traded in the previous session.
The Nigerian currency also improved its value against the Euro in the official market by N1.36 to close at N1,818.53/€1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,819.89/€1.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N1.90 to wrap the session at N2,130.44/£1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N2,128.50/£1.
At the black market segment, the Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N2 to quote at N1,605/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s value of N1,607/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, a possible regulatory progress about digital assets in the US spurred buying interest among investors during the trading session.
The chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Paul Atkins, was at a crypto roundtable on Friday and he devoted his inaugural speech to assuring the industry that he will continue to remake securities policy to favor digital assets innovation.
Litecoin (LTC) rose by 3.0 per cent to $87.24, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 2.7 per cent to $0.1862, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.3 per cent to $94,687.84, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $1,797.51, Cardano (ADA) improved by 0.9 per cent to $0.7235, and Ripple (XRP) gained 0.6 per cent to close at $2.20.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $151.64, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.8 per cent to sell for $602.89, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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