Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports to bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on football. Betting has been a part of Nigerian culture for many years.
At first, it was heavily stigmatized, but the development of technology and openness of borders made gambling one of the most popular ways of spending time and money.
Sports Betting is experiencing a massive flow in Nigeria, with an estimated 60 million Nigerians actively involved in the sports betting game. Over 50 betting sites are currently operating in Nigeria. All this is having a huge impact on the economy. Nigeria has become the second largest online betting market in Africa, behind South Africa, with a Gross Gaming Revenue of $58 million in 2018, according to a report by top accounting and auditing firm, PwC. The report projects that the GGR will rise by 16% over a five-year period. Nigeria has over 200 million people, supplying the population to feed the betting market.
However, sports betting often becomes a way to engage people with the same vision and goals. They visit offline and online betting sites, communicate, share experiences, and make friends. With time, they organize sports clubs, team up for games, and do family activities. This builds stronger relationships inside the society and prevents Nigerians from bad habits like alcohol and drugs.
This pastime is very beneficial for the government, as sports betting venues pay significant taxes. This money is used to support those who live below the poverty line, build infrastructure, and even educate children. Another less obvious advantage of sports betting is that it boosts technological growth and improvements. Many developers and companies want to create their own products which bring the local labour market into action.
Sports betting in Nigeria is not growing alone, but rather moving along with other industries like the banking, information technology and telecommunications industries. The inter-relationship between these sectors can best be described as symbiotic, with each benefiting from the other.
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Dipo Olowookere