Sports Betting in Nigeria: 5 Things You Need To Know

Gone are the days of Baba Ijebu and the red typewriter-looking thingamabobs, Nigerians have replaced heated arguments in viewing centres and learned to put their money where their mouth is.

Today, Sports betting is almost as much a sport as the sports themselves; it has even become a large part of Nigerian pop culture. Music artistes are singing about it, social media is trending with it and young people are both virtually and physically piling up into betting centers to pace their stakes.

Who would have thought the initial hesitation with which Nigerians met the gambling business will give way to create a bustling billion-naira empire? When you find that the odds are against you, we hope that these will help you make better-informed decisions:

1. You Will Never Walk Alone:
That’s right, you are not the only one facing the odds. According to reports, 60 million Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 40, are involved in active sports betting – online and offline. The betting website, Bet 9ja is currently the third most visited site in Nigeria holds about 28 million unique visitors every day. For those doubting the legitimacy of the wins, the high population translates to cash inflow. So when the stakes are high, you are sure that they can deliver on the jackpot because you are not the only one that threw your hat in the ring.

2. Sports Betting is a Money Making Machine:
Before you get excited, this is mostly true for the Sports Betting Outfits than for the bettors themselves. According to reports, Nigerians spend over N730 billion on sports betting annually with sport betting provides making up to N1 billion daily in profits. Judging from the lucrativeness of the business, rather than patronize, it seems a wiser option to invest in the sports betting sector.

3. Sports Betting is an Ancient Enterprise:
Sports betting has been around for as long as sports have existed. The first record of sports betting dates back more than 2,000 years ago. The Greeks’ love of sports led them to introduce the Olympics to the world as well as the earliest records of betting on athletic competitions. From the Greeks, sports betting spread to ancient Rome where it was eventually accepted even legalized. In particular, Romans bet on the gladiator games, and even when this ancient sporting event eventually came to a stop, gambling survived and continued to spread to other kingdoms. Later in history, gambling became very popular in England in the form of horse race betting and then the English spread the practice to the rest of the world. So next someone tells you they know all about sports betting and can supply you with sure stakes, ask them if they were born in 700 BC.

4. Why You Bet The Way You Do:
According to Prof. Pinhas Dannon, sports gamblers seem to believe themselves as the cleverest of all gamblers. They think that with experience and knowledge, such as player’s statistics, manager’s habits, weather conditions, and stadium capacity, they can predict the outcome of a game better than the average person. However, knowledge and experience are not always enough to aid the betting lifestyle. Another factor that comes into play is Body Chemistry. Dopamine is a chemical that acts as the brain’s reward system, released when we do something that makes us feel good. Much like cocaine, sports betting can stimulate the brain to release dopamine which triggers the brain to want to do it again and again. This reflects in bettors’ actions and decisions, that feeling of happiness or pursuit over the thrill of betting is one of the most important matters standing behind continuous betting. Apart from people whose betting habits trigger dopamine, die-hard sports fans are often die-hard bettors.

5. Legal Elements of Sports Betting:
An average bettor might not be aware that laws and agencies oversee the betting and lottery industry such as the Nigerian Criminal Code Act and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC). It is advised that if one must participate in sports betting, it should be done within the confines of the law.

Source: olatorera.com