In Nigeria, online sports betting is exploding thanks to the World Cup and AFCON. This is one of the vectors likely to accelerate the development of online payment in a country that is still poorly banked.
The field of sports games on football has attracted many online gaming companies. Russian, Slovak and Italian platforms are already present in this large African market. The British bookmaker Betway arrived last year and launched a vast promotional campaign for the AFCON by offering various promotions match scheduled, the same gift offered by the number one in the market, the Nigerian Bet9Ja . The start-up Nairabet claims two million customers. An activity which contributes to the promotion of financial inclusion among a public which, sometimes, does not even have a bank account.
Naira spent per year on sports betting
Nigerians spend over 730 billion naira per year, approximately €1,788,934,350 on sports betting and at least two billion naira, €4,901,190, is generated daily, according to recent studies.
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Data revealed that over 60 million Nigerian punters spend over 3,000 naira (€7.50) per day to place bets. The country has at least 50 betting sites, the number of which increases every year.
Punters interviewed say they placed bets to generate quick and easy income and turn their passion for football into cash. For Segun Mukoro, a 28-year-old fashion designer, who bets at least once a week, it’s the quickest way to double his income; although he sometimes loses, the young Nigerian confirms that the winnings are enormous.
“It’s a guessing game and you get better with time. I know it’s addictive, but I see it as an investment, a way to double my income,” Segun Mukoro continued.
The Nigerian News Agency also reports that leading betting platform Bet9ja has invested heavily in advertising by sponsoring the reality TV show Big Brother Naija. Success awaits you!
Nigeria is an economic giant but still a dwarf in terms of digital finance.
Nigeria is one of the African countries where less than 10% of adults have a mobile account which majority are still using old app on mobile, the World Bank’s index on financial inclusion. When Kenya, the pioneer in this area, exceeded the 40% mark. Nigeria is also one of the least banked countries, with only 40% of adults having a bank account. This delay is partly explained by the country’s recent economic difficulties and also partly by the lack of IT security, the slowness of the Internet, and the fear of fraud and scams have deterred users. A situation which has improved a lot recently thanks to payment technologies offered by local start-ups, PayStack and Flutterwave.
The services of these two start-ups were quickly adopted by online gaming companies.
PayStack is the most popular payment method for those playing on the Nairabet site and 1xBet. The start-up founded two years ago by two young Nigerian computer scientists thanks to a Silicon Valley incubator is booming. It raised more than a million dollars with the support of the Chinese Tencent and the American Comcast. Paystack is not only used for gaming sites, it is also a technology appreciated by Nigerian transport and insurance companies. Fluterwave, the other local start-up, launched at the same time, is also developing rapidly with a foothold in Silicon Valley. It raised ten million dollars to ensure its future development.
The online gaming market represents a significant share of digital payments?
The turnover is estimated at one billion dollars today in Nigeria. This activity has taken off since last year. As evidenced by the jump in tax revenues collected from sports betting, they increased by 30 to 40% between 2016 and 2017. A trajectory that follows that of online payments. From one year to the next, the number of digital transactions has doubled. Sports betting is therefore one of the drivers of financial inclusion in Nigeria. There is still a lot to do in this area in Nigeria: 98% of monetary flows are still carried out in cash.
