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The $2 Billion Sports Betting War: CEOs Face Islamic Crackdown as Fresh Challenger Emerges

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

Gaming has actually evolved substantially in Nigeria from standard types like pool staking and sports betting Baba Ijebu to a successful sports betting wagering market. Historically connected to European football leagues, swimming pool staking was a typical sight at motor parks and kiosks, where enthusiasts would bet as low as N50-N200 on matches.

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

In spite of financial challenges such as inflation, sports betting Nigeria’s sports betting wagering sector has actually flourished, bring in millions, especially amongst the younger demographic dealing with high joblessness rates.

Reports suggest that approximately 60 million Nigerians aged 18-40 actively participate in sports betting wagering, driving a market that generates an estimated yearly income of N730 billion. The federal government has not gone undetected by this development, which is thinking about regulative procedures like excise tasks and VAT boosts to handle the sector.

The National Lottery Act of 2005 recognized regulatory bodies like the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to ensure reasonable operations regardless of obstacles in . Issues such as insufficient age confirmation and marketing rule breaches show industry regulative gaps.

Regardless of these obstacles, sports betting companies continue to grow through reliable organization designs and aggressive marketing methods, leveraging the creator influencer market.

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

Sheriff Olaniyan – CEO Surebet247

Sheriff Olaniyan is the CEO of Surebet247, a sports betting book company he co-founded with Badmos Olasupo in 2011. His varied profession spans various functions in the gaming and show business, consisting of working at among the United Kingdom’s largest video gaming centres, 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 sports betting a Master’s in Geographical Information Systems from the University of Glamorgan, Wales. Surebet247, founded in August 2011, has grown into a leading e-commerce organization in the wagering and gaming sector, running through online, mobile, sports betting and retail channels. The company was integrated in Nigeria on November 7, 2006, and has because expanded its presence, achieving over 5,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

Sam Sadi – CEO Livescorebet

Sam Sadi has more than 25 years of experience in sports betting brands and sports betting media. In 2019, he ended up being the CEO of LiveScore Group, a totally integrated community that integrates pertinent sports betting material, engaging features, and a first-rate sportsbook.

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

Sam’s leadership and strategic vision have moved LiveScore Group’s success and helped shape the market’s instructions. LiveScoreBet has actually achieved major 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 previously served as the company’s Marketing and Operations Director because 2015. He joined Betway in 2013 and has actually remained in the online video gaming industry given that 2000, holding numerous effective functions, including General Manager of an information analytics group and Director of a digital marketing firm.

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

Damilare Alabi, Co-Founder, Managing Director NairaBET

Damilare Alabi has actually identified herself as a senior sports betting executive with a performance history of transforming start-ups into institutionalized organizations. Her know-how spans the gaming, property, and credit loaning industries, sports betting where he has developed himself as a strategic and functional leader.

Damilare has actually been instrumental in NairaBET’s success for over 14 years. Given that June 2019, sports betting she has actually functioned as Managing Director and has overseen the business’s growth and operations in Lagos, Nigeria.

Before this, sports betting she was the Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to June 2019, pivotal in the company’s functional strategies 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, Nigeria’s pioneering sports betting bookmaking company, developed the business in 2009. While NairaBET was not the first sports betting platform in Nigeria, it was the very first to release a completely practical site, setting a criteria in the market.

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 company based in Cyprus. 1XBET, founded in 2007 by the late Sergey Karshkov, has established itself as one of the biggest bookies in Europe and the world. The business runs in more than 50 nations, consisting of Nigeria, where it is totally certified.

Under Babalola’s management, 1XBET Nigeria has actually expanded its footprint in the competitive Nigerian sports betting market, using a vast array of wagering choices 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, and Chairman of Vend Capital. In addition to leading these endeavors, Ukanwoke has worked together with African socio-economic organizations and federal governments to develop developmental policies targeted at empowering youths. In 2015, Ernst & & Young honoured him as the Winner of the Accelerating Category– World Entrepreneur of the Year.

BetKing, established and launched in Nigeria on February 22, 2018, by Byron Petzer and Adekunle Adeniji, operates under the trademark name of Lake Ventures Ltd. This pan-African sports betting and home entertainment business has quickly grown its existence in Nigeria, with outlets in major cities and over 500,000 downloads on the Google Play Store.

In 2020, BetKing entered into a collaboration with the Lagos Employment Trust Fund, creating over 100,000 tasks, the variety of which is increasing annually. In the exact same year, 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, the creator, bulk investor, and joint Chief Executive of Bet365, an online sports betting business she established in 2000. Bet365.com was launched in 2001 as an online wagering website and has since turned into one of the world’s largest online gaming companies.

By 2016, Bet365 generated $2 billion in incomes and sports betting facilitated $45 billion in annual bets. The business also holds a bulk stake in Stoke City Football Club. Bet365 has actually 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 company in Nigeria, established together with business person 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 produces investment returns and provides distinct financial investment insights and solutions to both private and institutional customers.

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

Fikayo Ogunfuye – Country Director 22bet

Fikayo Ogunfuye is an experienced expert in the sports betting wagering market. He has been serving as the Country Director for 22BET in Nigeria because June 2021. In this function, he has contributed to the business’s development through partnerships, organization strategy, sports betting and brand-new company development.

Fikayo’s experience includes functions such as Chief Operations Officer (West Africa) at 22BET, where he managed item development and consumer 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, where he worked in SEO, CRM, 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, Management, and Operations from ESTG University in Cotonou, Benin Republic.

22Bet is an online sports betting platform that offers sports betting wagering, gambling establishment games, and live dealer games. It was launched 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 developed in 2013.

SportyBet is an international sports betting and real-money gaming operator sports betting understood for delivering an omni-channel entertainment experience in managed emerging markets. Under Ramnani’s management, SportyBet has become a significant gamer in the market, with over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store.

In addition to his function at SportyBet, sports betting Sudeep is an active investor in fintech and mobile payments and a strong supporter for the growing African internet ecosystem. His financial investments show his dedication to cultivating development and advancement within the area.

On April 30, 2024, Sudeep Ramnani invested in Chowdeck, sports betting taking part 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 stated it is focused on revolutionising how millions of Africans engage with sports betting. In an industry worth over $1.5 billion annual, with double-digit growth projection in the coming years, according to reports from the African Sports Betting Association and PwC, the firm intends to take advantage of innovative technology and a commitment to accountable gaming to revolutionise the sector.

Backed by the monetary power of 4 popular African billionaires, Sunbet, which will introduce in the very first quarter of 2025, intends to be the continent’s largest and most innovative sports betting wagering platform.

At a press instruction, sports betting the company’s spokesperson, Akin Babatunde, said that the rise in Internet penetration, mobile use, and the continent’s deep enthusiasm for sports betting, particularly football, has set the stage for Sunbet’s ambitious entry. He included that the firm’s robust sponsorship and sports betting professional group will enable it to scale and control the market quickly.

Islamic cops raid wagering stores in northern Nigeria

Islamic cops in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano have actually begun closing down sports betting wagering stores, which they state are operating illegally.

“As you understand, wagering is forbidden in Islam,” Mujahid Aminudeen, sports betting deputy chief of the Sharia police force, called the Hisbah, told the BBC.

Problems from neighborhood leaders and sports betting moms and dads prompted the crackdown, fretted about the growing number of gambling addicts, he said.

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

But Mr Aminudeen cautioned that now that the general public knew that the Hisbah was clamping down on gaming, those flouting the rules would be detained.

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

Bookies and bars tend to be enabled to operate in Kano’s Christian neighbourhoods, sports betting though they too can face action if the Hisbah believes Muslims are frequenting them.

However, the existing crackdown is concentrated on Muslim areas of Kano, a vast city and the economic center of northern Nigeria.

sports betting wagering stores can be discovered all over the city. Many have tv screens, and customers watch the outcome of international football matches or sports betting horse races on which they have actually staked cash.

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

“They don’t have licences to run as they were permitted to run video games centres, which they later on converted to wagering shops,” he stated.

The sports betting wagering industry has actually expanded significantly throughout West Africa over the last few years. The region is roughly divided in between a generally Muslim north and a primarily Christian south.

Many individuals go to bookies to take pleasure in the sociability of other gamblers, though mobile apps are likewise popular for sports betting on the result of events and groups.

Nigeria’s debilitating economic crisis has also meant people are willing to run the risk of a percentage in the hope of winning huge.

However this had caused extensive addiction, and parents were even grumbling that kids were leaving of school to gamble, Mr Aminudeen stated.

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

The raids on Tuesday concentrated on Munjibir, thought about a resort area in the northeast of the city– visitors flock there at weekends.

“I am recommending those running those wagering stores to either shut down or we’ll detain them and take them to [a Sharia] court,” Mr Aminudeen stated.

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

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