The latest gaming trends in Nigeria

When it comes to online sports betting in the African continent, without a doubt, Nigeria leads the pack. Even though the nation remains Africa’s most regulated online sports betting market, wagering on sports proliferates.

Daily, you can expect to find Nigerian bettors wagering on different sports across several betting sites. In a typical average year, Nigerian bettors wager millions of Rands on the outcomes of football, rugby, boxing, tennis, and basketball, among other sporting events.

With Nigerians set to wager even more of their hard-earned funds on sports, the market’s potential is relatively easy to see and comprehend.

Since 2018, for instance, the interest in sports betting specific terms seems to have increased, and plenty of new operators have now entered the scene, with an influx of both international and local operators now starting to stake their claim.

Betting Trends for 2023

Traditional online sports betting sites in Nigeria are working round the clock to ensure that they mobile their online offerings, with new online-only ones offering Nigerian players an easy and smooth way of placing their wagers.

But what’s the Nigerian betting market wagering on at sports sites? Is the market betting on what they used to bet on before? What about the latest betting trends?

Unsurprisingly, some of the most popular sports, such as football and horse race betting, still dominate and take the lion’s share of betting in Nigeria. Plenty of Nigerian punters prefer to wager on football, followed by horse racing.

But besides football and wagering on the horses being significant among Nigerian punters, rugby, cricket, basketball, boxing, and golf betting are also common, albeit to a lower degree. However, there seem to be some changes in how Nigerians are betting lately. Not every punter is a fan of football, basketball, cricket, boxing or tennis.

The rise in Esports Betting

Esports betting, in particular, seems to be growing in popularity in Nigeria, with bettors now being able to place bets on esports.

Even though the country is still slightly behind the international trends, Nigerian players can now wager on esports events such as Defense of the Ancients (DOTA), StarCraft, and League of Legends, especially on local betting sites.

MMA and Boxing Betting

Besides current trends in esports betting in Nigeria, wagering on MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and boxing on both the local and international level is the current trend in Nigeria. In Nigeria today, combat sports are on the rise, heightening the popularity of homebred fighters and local promotions.

With an increased number of Nigerian MMA fighterssigning up with the UFC and the country’s boxing talent venturing overseas, punters seem to be wagering on them “en masse”.

Betting on Simulated Football and Roulette

Wagering on simulated football and roulette seems to be a rising trend in Nigeria. Now, you can expect to find plenty of betting sites offering sporting simulations to their customers, with others going a step further to provide customers with animated matches. These games produce results based on a random database draw or some form of an algorithm.

You can easily find animated football at plenty of betting sites in the country using the same underlying technology – with matches ‘played’ every six minutes. Other more traditional events, such as online-simulated roulette and several other lottery-types are now readily available at many sites in the country, attracting significant wagers.

Wrap Up

Online sports betting is big in Nigeria, and according to expert reports, such will rise in the years to come. The country currently boasts more than 40 operators, with some poised to enter the market once they acquire a licence to operate.

Even though wagering on football and horse racing events remains highly popular in Nigeria, there seems to be a paradigm shift in the country lately. Bettors are now open to trying their luck in other sports such as MMA, boxing, darts, triathlon, and bandy.

Luckily enough, some of the best betting sites in Nigeria are now allowing players to wager on sports that most wouldn’t have thought of before. You can now find bettors wagering on animations and simulations, which most didn’t know of a few years back.

Source: infodig.com.ng

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