Sports betting has witnessed massive growth in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Nigeria. It’s close to two decades now since the first legal online betting portal in Nigeria was set up. Before then, there were independent and unregulated betting companies sparsely scattered across the nation. While some offered bets on sports, most of the betting back then was geared towards the lottery side of gambling.
Nairabet is recognized as the first legal bookmaker in Nigeria. The company started operations in 2009 after the founder consulted a developer friend of his to help build him a small betting site for Nigerians as he couldn’t afford the available portals back then that cost millions. Akin Alabi, the founder of Nairabet knew the gambling industry in Nigeria which was almost non-existent at the time was waiting to be tapped. Prior to him setting up the company, he was an internet marketer that found success with blogging, email marketing and selling of e-books.
Akin had his first experience with gambling when he visited his brother in the United Kingdom and placed a bet at a betting store he and his brother visited together. He thought Nigerians would love the thrill that came with gambling so decided to make e-books teaching Nigerians how to place bets on foreign websites. The success of the e-book was what made him decide on setting up a local bookmaker in Nigeria.
Today, Nairabet is one of the successful bookmakers in Nigeria amidst a pool of other top betting companies. The likes of Bet9ja, Surebet247, Winners Golden Bet, Naijabet, Betking, and most recently Betway have stamped their dominance in the ever-growing gambling industry in Nigeria. As the numbers of punters keep growing in the country, many millionaires have been made; a positive development considering the level of unemployment in the country.
Even though sports betting dominates the betting Industry, many people are beginning to open up to the idea of virtual betting, poker, casino, horse racing and other forms of betting. With many victories also come to a lot of losses. Many newbie punters have placed bets based on misinformation that cost them the amount staked. For reasons such as this, betting companies review websites have been created to ensure that those new to betting don’t have the issues such as this any longer. Well researched reviews of bookmarkers like this one on Betway Nigeria are regularly posted and updated to keep those new to sports betting in the country abreast of relevant betting information. Prediction websites in the country are also on the rise and many people have subscribed to such platforms to help increase their chances of winning.
In conclusion, the gambling industry in Nigeria is on the rise and this may be indicative of the people’s quest to get rich and live better lives, it could also be a way of making a living because of the unemployment and under-employment in the country depending on your moral compass and from what angle you look at the situation. What is, however, paramount is that people have fun while placing bets and do this responsibly as the industry continues to blossom
