Nigeria: the promising market for mobile sports-betting operators

 

 

Nigeria: the promising market for mobile sports-betting operators

 

Popular Markets in Nigeria

 

Nigerian players are known to enjoy betting on almost any sport they can get their hands on. Football, however, not unlike mostly everywhere in the world, is the favourite sport to bet on in Nigeria. There are millions of football fans in Nigeria, and most of the absolutely love the game as well as spicing up the excitement of it through betting on their favourite teams, players and matches. There is an especially high rate of betting in Nigeria on the outcome of the games the favourite teams of the bettors play.

Most of these players are betting on offshore online sportsbook operators, meaning they prefer online vs retail betting. Online sports betting facilities have implemented some cool features such as live streaming which helps them follow their favourite teams, in-play betting, which can satisfy their need to follow their gut feeling while watching the game, reliable picks etc.

 

Payment options availability

 

When it comes to the payment options available, if we compare the Nigerian with the rest of the African markets, Nigeria has a clear advantage over most of them.  Nigerian bettors have a wide range of different deposit and withdrawal options available to them. The robust banking system in the country is to thank for this advantage, giving it an edge in front of most parts of the continent. There are local debit and credit cards available with the branding of Visa, MasterCard, Verve and Interswitch, and they can be used for instant deposits. When we add to this the fact that online transfers can be made from a number of local banks, we come to realize that the climate for online betting is just right in Nigeria.

BtoBet partners with a high number of third party payment providers such as ApcoPay, POLi, AstroPay, Skrill, EcoPayz, WorldPay, Click and Buy, PaySafe and many others.  By partnering with the before mentioned providers, Btobet is providing its clients and their users with more than 200+ payment methods available worldwide, making it the perfect partner for the Nigerian operators, as well as any other market worldwide really.

 

What does the future hold?

 

Inconsistency between the sports betting regulations on state and federal levels is one of the biggest issues that are facing the Nigerian sports betting market. It has been suggested many times, and it is quite obvious, that the way in which the entire gaming industry is regulated in Nigeria needs to be reviewed. There needs to be stronger oversight and more importantly, greater consistency across the entire country.

One of the biggest problems, in all countries that are unregulated, or regulated poorly or unclearly is missing out on extensive tax revenues. Nigeria in a similar way is crippled by the proliferation of overseas sites that do not pay taxes in the country, however this is not the only issue. Due to the regulatory confusion, the National Lottery Regulatory Commission is uncertain whether it should collect taxes from state-licensed operators or not, which in many cases may be leading to less taxation.

There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel, as things are looking up for Nigerian operators. Both sports betting and casino gambling is continuously growing at a rapid rate. The strength of sports betting in Nigeria can be seen by the reports that are showing Nigerians betting around $4.2 billion a year on sports, a number which surpasses casino betting by far, with the $40 million the licensed casino industry brings. However, not all is perfect, as with any fast growing expansion, the exploding growth of betting brings some problems with it. Around 30% of young adults bet on sports in Nigeria at the moment and there is a growing concern of addictive gambling problems in the country.

On a more positive side of things, as soon as this part of the industry starts being effectively taxed this will be a great boost for the entire country, as it will be a huge source of income. This is why it is crucial in the near future the before mentioned review of the regulations to occur, helping the domestic operators and the entire country benefit greatly from this.

 

BtoBet has interviewed the director of Global Gaming Africa to explore the expert’s point of view about the local market. If you wish to discover more, download the Interview here BtoBet interviews John Kamara on Nigeria’s betting market.”

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