Sports betting and Lotto are the latest fad among Nigerians – young and old – With a crushing economy, biting unemployment and under-employment, many Nigerians have seen in betting an avenue to a miraculous turn around, writes JOE AGBRO JR
ADEOLA Akinyele, a hairdresser, is a mother of four. Her husband’s income is far from being able to handle the family’s needs. So, aside making women beautiful, she has adopted betting as a mean of making the much-needed extra cash.
As a novice in the betting enterprise, she depends on people for “accurate” forecasts.
“People give me codes with which I play and I just send my girls to go and play for me,” she said.
Even though her husband detests betting, Akinyele continues to engage in the practice.
“My husband does not like betting, neither does he like my being involved in the practice. But it does not affect me because commit small money to it. There was a time I won. I have even won N13, 800 once.”
Another player, Peter (who elected to be identified) sells computer accessories in Ikeja Lagos. He is one of the sports betting die-hards. For him, sport betting is fun, even as he was quick to add that he has not won much.
Not only does he love to bet on his favourite teams, he also bets on other teams he thinks might win in the day’s game. Win or lose, he never bothers. Not a loser all the time, he wins most times. He was frank to admit that “I actually win sometime but I must confess that I have lost more.”
For those who engage in it, they depend on the tripod of information, knowledge and luck. Of the three, luck remains the biggest trigger, but a lot of the times, the luck is bad for patrons. That, however, never deters patrons.
Like opium, it drives those who stake harder, with renewed determination to win next time. Those who regard it as a veritable source of income have no other home. No family. No friend. No business; only staking, betting and more betting.
They sleep and wake up in betting shops. Left with no choice, or so it seems, to make their marks through labour, many of the nation’s active population drown their frustration in lottery and betting. Here, they pray before staking their last pennies, and wish God to grant them the luck to win something, with which to patch the pangs of hunger and lack.
Inside a betting shop located on the first floor of a shopping mall in Ikeja, Lagos, about 20 such young men mill round two flat screen television sets. Their gaze was glued to the matches being placed. The outlet itself was a full measure of about 20 feet by 20 feet. None minded that they are taking in one another’s breath. For some who have staked, their life depended on that match. So they follow the deft moves of the players, hissing at the near misses as the ball either hits the upright or goes over the bar. As the game progresses more people strolled in and they make for the two tellers to wager their stakes.
Two sets of football matches were being beamed from the two television sets. As the players chased the ball across the pitch, the atmosphere was humid and the air conditioner did not do enough work to ward off the tension. The tension is expected as various outcomes of the game will mean a win or loss for the ‘stakers’.
Two persons were sprawled out, dozing off on a plank, while two bettors engaged the tellers seated behind a cage. They both gave the teller a paper on which they have written their winning codes. They told the tellers it is too sure to win, and they staked their money with smile.
In exchange, the teller punched the code into a computer and in a short while, handed back to them their betting slips. They soon left, promising to return by 4pm to claim their wins.
Betting goes on round the clock in Nigeria. While activities in physical betting shops may close by 8pm, (some have extended to 12 am), with the support of technology, a smart or android phone, betting goes on round the clock, with people winning or losing their stakes every hour.
Welcome to the gaming world, where men, based on their informed knowledge or outright ignorance, wage a bet hoping on the gods of luck to deliver to them earnings far above their stakes, some extra cash to cushion the stark realities of lack.
In the Southwest, many throng the lotto shops, which are usually a make shift space. What you needed is just a table and chair. Agents are supplied the lotto machine, and ‘stakers’ come, play, collect their tickets and go. They return, based on their ‘stakings’, either every hour or full day, to know if they win or lose. While winners gloat, and play more, losers are comforted that victory is just another stake away. Locals call it Baba Ijebu, in deference to the pioneers of the trade, who are of that shrewd Yoruba stork.
Plotting, winning and losses
Today, Nigerians’ penchant for betting has grown in leaps. According to an April 2019 report by ResearchAndMarketing.com, the Nigeria’s betting industry is worth $2 billion. In 2014, a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) investigation revealed that 60 million Nigerians between 18 and 40 years of age may be spending up to N1.8 billion on sports betting daily. And a 2016 KPMG report revealed that a leading sports betting company in Nigeria makes an average monthly turnover of $10 million. But while recent figures are not available, with the growing trend where more youths mill around sports betting halls, it is likely this figure has risen, and more money are streaming in for betting companies.
A recent press release by NOI Polls said that ‘gambling is becoming very popular in the country’ and identified the Southwest and Southsouth as regions that ‘gamble’ most. The poll showed that prevalence of betting and gambling was highest amongst respondents in the South-West (92 percent) and lowest in the Northwest (57 per cent). Prevalence figures in other regions are; Southsouth (91 per cent), Northcentral (84 per cent), Southeast (82 per cent) and Northeast (58 per cent).
According to Alexa, www.bet9ja.com, owned by KC Gaming Ltd, is the number two most visited website after Google and visitors spend an average of 12 minutes on the website daily.
To lure new customers, betting companies usually offer several bonuses. For instance, there are bonuses for first time bettors or returning bettors while some offer return on losses.
However, it is not only football that is being betted on. Other games patrons wager a bet on are horse racing, basketball, volleyball and many other sports. In fact, there is betting ongoing for the Big Brother Naija which incidentally is being sponsored by Bet9ja.
Sports betting versus Lotto
However, not everyone likes the sports betting for reasons ranging from being thought of as a scam to lacking the basic understanding for how stakes are played. Unlike the sports betting that requires some understanding of whatever game is being played so as to maximise stakes, for the lotto, it is heads-on luck. As the odds for lotto are greater, so also is the reward.
A sports betting agent, Adeniran Bisiriyu, who has four betting shops in Agege, Lagos, started lotto business over two decades ago and incorporated sports betting to his business in 2009/2010. Presently, an agent of Bet9ja, 1960Bet and Western Lotto and other lotto games, Bisiryu said agents can earn between 10 percent and 15 percent, depending on the arrangement between the agents and the betting companies.
He also said more people favour playing lotto to sports betting because they find it less complex.
“Novice easily comes into the business either as an agent or as a staker. But in sports betting, you must know something a little. You know, operating phones is one of it. Then, even choosing teams is another thing. So, if you’re not so conversant with football, you may not be able to participate in sports betting. But in lotto, even market women do play lotto. So, you can from that angle reason that lotto business is far more lucrative and have more stakers. When you look at the percentage of people, lotto still takes a larger part of peoples involvement because novice do play it. Even, people just choose numbers without forecasting. But when you talk about sports betting, you must know teams, you must know their weak points and strong points before you begin to bet on them. With the lotto, they can just pick lucky numbers from anywhere. Even women and illiterates can play it,” said Bisiriyu
Popular lotto games which started from Ghana and are drawn in Ghana include Monday Special, Lucky Ghana, Midweek, Fortune, Bonanza and National which are played on Monday to Saturday respectively.
There are many versions of Nigerian lottery games too which include games such as Enugu, Bingo, Jackpot, Metro, Premier King and Premier Royal. However, Bisiriyu said Lagosians like to play Ghana games “because they have belief they (games) cannot be easily manipulated.”
Another staker, Johnson Agbekorode, who lives in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos favours lotto to sports betting.
“I think sports betting is a scam. I prefer to play ‘Baba Ijebu’ (lottery) than sports betting,” he said.
Some recent winners of sports betting include Saheed Oniloyi and Olashile Ali who won N8 million together via Bet9ja with a N400 stake. Also, Arinze Cosmas Ezeanyanwu, a truck pusher, won N36 million via Bet9ja in 2017. In 2018, Joseph Vincent Achuku, who reportedly won about N11 million in Bet9ja in Nasarawa was found murdered, only days after.
And while some winners emerge from the lot in Nigeria, the glamour and attraction of sports betting continues as betting companies use football veterans like Victor Ikpeba (Bet9ja), Kanu Nwankwo (SportyBet) and Jay Jay Okocha (BetKing) as brand ambassadors may draw in more bettors.
Surebet’s Digital Marketing Manager Olayinka Bolaji said the firm was able to weather the storm, being one of the oldest in the industry. He said the highest amount won on Surebet is N25 million.
“We have had people winning N10 million, N5 million, N3 million and so on. If I can recollect, I know we have paid up to N25 million for a single win. We have paid up to N10 million as well,” he said.
With these crowd pulling football ambassadors, the game of betting is assured of a life stream and the game goes on.
Regulatory bodies
The National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) was established through the National Lottery Act of 2005 to regulate the lottery business in Nigeria. In 2015, the NLRC started regulating the sports betting category. Other states also set up their own regulatory authorities. Presently, 11 sport betting companies are licenced by the NLRC while the Lagos State Lotteries Board which commenced operations in 2005 licenced 17 sport betting companies to operate.
Why people go into betting, by psychologist
A MEDICAL psychologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Leonard Okonkwo, opined that it was not surprising that Nigerian youths are embracing betting.
“There is a high level of poverty in the land,” he said.
He went on: “And then people are generally hoping for miracles, dreaming that their situation would be changed overnight. And don’t forget that Nigeria is basically a very religious society where we believe that things can change overnight without much hard work. What the betting companies do, is to cash in on the frustration and religiosity of the people for the hope that things can change overnight and say this is one way that things can change overnight – put in N200 and you get N2m. And then, the idea is that what you’re putting in seems not to be too much that you cannot part with, but the thing is the more you do it, the more you feel you can’t just let go until you get it.
And you don’t realise how much you have put in because you’re putting it in small bits – N2000, N1000 – things that are so small compared to the dreams that you have that you might just be the next millionaire. That is actually the psychology that these bet houses play on the mind of the people who are ‘victims’ of this betting game.”
Additional reports: Tajudeen Adebanjo
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