•Ravaged by unemployment, Nigerian youths take to betting,  gambling to survive the times

By Henry Akubuiro

Everybody in the neighbourhood knew Ifeanyi Odili. At Franzaki Street, Bucknor Estate, a five-minute drive from the Community Road Bridge, Ago, Okota, Lagos, where he lived, 50-something-year-old, River State-born Odili was a man about town. Smartly dressed, he was noticed by everybody whenever he passed by. His stereo was loud and he greeted anybody in the street who looked his way. For those who sold food items, he ensured he patronised everybody in bulk, even when he didn’t need those things. He was the ideal customer, who regularly left change behind.

Odili moved into the street with style. He came with a new Honda SUV, which was washed at least twice a day at a nearby car wash, a new set of furniture and home appliances, and even paid his landlord extra fees for building a fine house. His wife rarely cooked initially. Three times a day, his children would go to supermarkets and eateries to shop for fast food and drinks. Before renting the three-bedroom apartment, Odili had told his landlord he was a staff of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and was newly moved from Abuja. A month after he moved in, his landlord expected him to resume work, but that wasn’t to be. Odili lied that the man he had wanted to replace in Lagos hadn’t finished his handover notes yet.

It wasn’t until the landlord visited NNPC that he discovered Odili wasn’t a staff of the company, but it was too late to eject him. Above all, his rent was still running. Before neighbours and shop owners discovered who he was, Odili had already accumulated debts running into millions of naira. He was always telling them he was expecting money. Unknown to them, the money he was expecting was meant to come from weekly sporting bets. He usually sneaked to Ikotun, some 20 minutes away, to bet ahead of European league matches.

Sadly, a year after he moved into the apartment, Odili couldn’t renew his rent. When he couldn’t pay 18 months after he moved in, the landlord served him a quit notice. Odili had nowhere to go, so he remained in the apartment, quarelling with the landlord at will. Also, on a daily basis, a group of debtors he owed would converge on the compound to ask for their debts.

Unable to pay them and to fend for his family, he sold his vehicle’s battery and tyres, leaving the SUV to look like a museum artefact. He went on to sell everything in his house, from the vehicle itself, fancy sofas, giant television, fans, foams, cooking utensils, pillows, foot matches, to clothes.

Sadly, two years after he moved into Franzaki, Odili was forced to leave the compound to the Synagogue Church of All Nations, where the late TB Joshua gave him an open space to live with his family alongside many homeless folks.

Odili, an unemployed man, was made by sports Betting. But he didn’t appropriately invest the millions he made from it. He was thinking the next big money would come. But wishes weren’t horses for every beggar to ride.

Some many people have made it through sports betting across the world, though a vast majority will only end up building castles in the air due to the complexity inherent in winning big. The danger, however, is in counting the chickens before they are hatched.

Like in other parts of the world, sports betting in Nigeria is big business, especially football betting, Saturday Sun investigations revealed.

As weekends and sometimes midweek approach, betting houses become a beehive of activities. These are often periods when major European league clubs compete for league matches, FA cups and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League and Europa matches, and huge sums of money is staked on teams to win. World cup matches also attract the same enthusiasm.

Aware that many African youths rely on betting to survive these days, in the absence of (well paying) jobs, highly rated Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen, who plays for the Serie A giant, Napoli, explaining why he had made a routine to score in almost every match played, said in a viral interview:

“I always want to score in every game for the youths of Africa to get something to eat, I know they always put their money on me to score.”

Osimhen’s statement appeared to be an unintentional endorsement of sports betting in Africa, but he merely stated the obvious, based on the teeming number of betters from Nigeria and other African countries.

Amazing sport betting statistics

Saturday Sun findings revealed a spike in interests and investments in sports betting in the last three years.

In 2020, sports betting witnessed a boom in the United States, as gross revenues hit a record shattering $7.5 billion, according to recent data released by the American Gaming Association (AGA), translating to a nearly 75 per cent increase from 2021. The football segment alone registered a market share of more than 24.0 per cent in 2022. However, in 2020, about 5.7 million Americans were reported with a gambling disorder, according to the National Association of Administrators for Disordered Gambling Services.

Globally, the sports betting market accounted for USD 83.65 billion in 2022. It is projected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3 per cent from 2023 to 2030, boosted by factors such as the shift in regulatory landscape, accessibility of smartphones and digital infrastructure and compelling adverts.

Sports betting was also encouraged by the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of restrictions on physical sporting activities across the world and an upsurge in eSports and other forms of betting.

According to data from an Indian gambling site, Pure Win, over 62 per cent of all the bets in India are done through smartphones. Still in India, reports the India Internet Player Society (IIPS), around 80 per cent of Indians gamble once a year.

In the UK, sports betting has been legalised since 1960, and Europe alone accounted for a market size of over USD 40 billion last year.

In the Asian countries of China and India, gambling is a popular pastime. In the United Kingdom where gambling is more regulated, top athletes and celebrities were banned last year from appearing in adverts endorsing or promoting gambling to try to curb underage gambling. In Africa, it’s more of an all comers’ affair.

Evolution of gambling in Nigeria

For decades, casino gambling was considered an elitist game in Nigeria, usually available in big hotels. Coupon betting (pool) has been there since the colonial days and was usually the pastime of the elderly. It took the entry of Kensington Adebutu (Baba Ijebu) into the gaming business in 2001 to compel hundreds of Nigerians flocking in droves to play.

In more recent times, Saturday Sun gathered, the ratio of Nigerian youths participating in online sports betting has risen dramatically. Naira Bet, Bet9ja, Sportybet, Betking and Betway Nigeria are among the most popular betting brands.

How to increase chances of winning bets in Nigeria

Saturday Sun investigations revealed that, to win a bet in Nigeria, the bettors’ first step is to play in leagues he is familiar with and avoid greed in accumulators.

Limiting the number of games on each stake is also top notch self-education, as well as focusing on choosing better odds on a small number of games (which may be on-going for days or weeks). Bettors can also increase their stakes with safe odds for better winning. It’s also advisable to do proper research on past scores and wins, match standings of clubs and teams, and the form of players involved in the match. There are also prediction sites that analyse and predict each match or your sports analysis.

So far, Bet9ja highest winner is Arinze Cosmas Ezeanyanwu, who, in 2017, got a payout of N46.2 million with his winning ticket.

In March, 2022, one Sportybet player turned a 100,000 coupon into N39.5 million, thanks to his 18 selections all being correct, drawn from the English FA Cup, the Bundesliga, Scottish Premiership, Serie A, Eredivisie and England’s lower leagues.

Why droves of Nigerians turn to online betting for survival

Betting houses have become ubiquitous in Nigeria. In a city like Lagos, you can even find more than one betting house in a street. Saturday Sun moved around the country

From Lagos, Damiete Braide reports that at a Bet9ja shop at Afolabi Bus Stop along LASU/Igando Road, it was observed that many youths constituted the majority of the patrons, their ages ranging between 18 and 25 years. Elderly people also visit here.

What keeps them from continuing betting even when they don’t win regularly? Saturday Sun queried.

Tosin Bayo said he had been visiting gambling houses, because he had won on several occasions: “Sometimes, I would play a game of N200 and win between N15,000 and N25,000. I play the game on a daily basis. Sometimes I do win. Other times, I lose. I have a friend who once played N2000, and he won N150,000.’

Playing the game could also be down to guessing right, that is, luck. Bayo said: “Luck is on my side, because at least, I do win three or four times in a month, and it is usually more than what I played.

“There are no secrets to winning big, because the gambling is a game of luck. Some people will play with a bigger money, N50,000 to N200,000 or more and they won’t win anything,” he noted.

Ashimau Azeez was also optimistic: “You may keep betting and won’t win big, but, sometimes, you may get lucky. I keep doing it hoping to win big money one day, because nothing comes easy. Even betting, too, requires patience.

“I know some people who have won big money. One of them, a friend of mine, played with N500 where I used to play and, luckily for him, he hit the jackpot.”

He said winning big wasn’t all about playing with big money: “Sometimes it could be between N1000 and N2000 which can make you win millions of naira. Also, N200 can sometimes give an individual over N100,000, which is all about the odds.

“For me, I don’t know any secret about winning like that. I just know that, if the odds are high, your chances of winning are also high.”

Delight Kingsley always plays the game weekly, because he is optimistic that, one day, he will win big.

“Though I have won a little money several times, I will continue to play it,” he said, adding, “I know a young guy who has won N15 million from two games that he played.

As he explained, the lucky young man came to play, not knowing where his bread was buttered. “Two English teams were playing, and he asked what game he should play, and someone told him that Team B would beat Team A by four goals, and he played it. Luckily for him, it was that N300 game that made him a millionaire. So winning big depends on one’s luck.

“I have won a couple of times on a weekly or monthly basis, and I have no regret in playing the games; but I hope to win big one of these days. I will say that the secret to winning big is consistency. If you constantly play the game, one day, luck will smile on you.”

Madmen provide betting tips in Oyo

In Oyo State, a tour of some betting houses revealed that the majority of gamblers engage in the activities in the evening with a high level of addiction.

Oluseye Ojo in Ibadan reports that the betting houses operate via kiosks, and they are visible in every nook and cranny of the state. In Ibadan, you can see their kiosks operating in Moniya, Ojoo, Agbowo, Sango, Bodija,  Yemetu, Beere,  Mapo, Molete, Iwo Road, Apata, Challenge, and so on. But the highest concentration can be found where there are major bus stops and motor parks.

It was observed that people of all age groups have been patronising betting and gambling houses, including men and women, comprising youth and adults. But some betting houses said the Oyo State Gaming Board had ordered that anyone below 18 years should not be allowed to bet or gamble.  Majority of bettors were mainly male.

There is physical and online betting. Some patrons of the physical betting said they bet on results of Premiership League, Championship League, and so on. Sporting activities, they said, had been providing good grounds for betting. They also mentioned some betting languages, including: ‘Two-Sure, Three-Sure’ and so on. It was also stated that some madmen do give gamblers special numbers that would win. These madmen can be found in Agodi-Gate, Molete, Ojoo and Moniya.

Some gaming houses have also introduced online betting for people that have required skills and knowledge to play the game online via mobile phones.

A bettor, who introduced himself as Olakunle Ayinde, said during an encounter at Mokola Roundabout in Ibadan: “I have no regret that I am involved in gambling.  It has been working for me. I have put down N5,000 for betting this year, and I won N100,000. I still used part of the money to bet. But I did not win. I kept on betting.

“I started betting in those days that it was called ‘pool’. We used to have newspapers and sporting newspapers that had dedicated pages for gamblers. On those pages, they would give us tips on how to win. But I don’t know if they are still publishing those tips. But we now have modern betting companies.

“I will not stop gambling. I have put my body, soul and spirit into it. It is in my blood. I cannot stop, unless God wants me to stop it. But it makes me happy. I am an optimist. I believe that if I don’t win today, I can win tomorrow. This life itself is about winning some and losing some. You can’t win all the time. I am a driver and, after work, I must pay for it. I will be 50 years old in September.”

Some of the bettors also said they could not point to what had been keeping them in the game.  But most said it must be the invariable spirit and the situation of Nigeria.  A number of them also hinted it might be as a result of an inordinate desire to get rich quickly.

Saturday Sun learnt most of them had lost more times than they had won.  A cross-section of the gamblers also said they knew it could either make or ruin their lives, but they had become addicted to it.

They stated that a person could play with N500, 1,000, N10,000, and so on. But the higher the amount expended on gambling, the higher the amount of money that a person can win. To win big, one, they said, could spend about N50,000 and N200,000. In addition, If you put down N50,000, you may win N500,000 or N2million. For them, it was more prudent to gamble with little money that would not affect them if they lost.

It was learnt that while some might not win in a one-month stretch, others might win up to five times a week.

Aside from getting winning tips from madmen, some bettors pick lucky numbers after studying trends, while some gamblers see winning numbers in their dreams, just as others consult soothsayers to win.

Middle age youths overwhelmed by betting in Plateau

In Plateau State, betting is also one of the most trending popular cultures among the middle aged and youths, who rely on it for survival. The traffic in most of the gambling houses located in prominent streets in Jos, the state capital, is overwhelming, reports Gyang Bere.

Most of those patronising the betting houses are male between 15 and 35 years. It was also noticed in some of the betting houses the presence of few aged persons, especially those struggling to make ends meet.

Rural communities are not left out on the list, as betting houses are also found in village squares or mini towns where villagers queue behind each other for gambling.  Usman Umar, a resident of Tudun Wada community in Jos South Local Government Area, said he had been patronising betting houses for long to keep life moving. He noted that economic hardship, coupled with lack of employment, pushed him into the exercise.

The highest money he had ever won over the years was N14,000, but he had spent more than N50,000 without luck. He usually bought tickets of N100 and sometimes he would win N14,000. But, in most cases, he goes home empty-handed.

The 24-year-old goes for betting anytime he wishes, but he is not addicted to it. According to him, “This is because I have sunk most of my resources into the game without commensurate benefits.|

In a betting house at West of Mines, in Jos North Local Government Area, people were seen in queues waiting for their turns to bet. The traffic was overwhelming, even as few ladies were spotted around.

When Joshua Ishaya was approached to enquire on how profitable the game was, he said, “I have been playing this game for over six years. There are occasions that I will win and there are periods that I will lose.

“There are times that I have won N6,000, N5,000 and sometimes N14,000. But I assure you that I have won more than the money I invested.”

Another bettor, Timothy Dalyop, who was excited over his previous exploits, said he invested N200 and won N1,000,000. He lamented that parts of the money was also invested in the game without success.

“The first success enticed me into playing the game regularly, even when I didn’t have money to play.

He has even sold some of his properties to invest in betting in the hope of getting better returns.

“There are occasions that this game pays off, but it can be dangerous sometimes when you are not careful. There are individuals who have sold their property to play without any benefits,” he said.

In Kaduna, ladies use men as fronts to bet

Betting houses have continued to spring up in major parts of Kaduna city, reports Noah Ebije. A queue Saturday Sun saw at noon on a Wednesday at a betting hall in a Kaduna suburb was a good testimony that youths, most of them unemployed, were leaving no stone unturned in betting and gambling to fend for themselves.

When Saturday Sun reporter walked into one of the betting halls in Kaduna, he noted that while some came to play new games, others were checking the results of the previous games they had played to know whether they won or not.

Ladies, who are into betting and gambling in this part, hardly show up in the betting halls, but use male friends or brothers to do it for them to avoid societal stigma, as betting is mostly considered as a pastime for men.

A scream was heard suddenly from a man in his early 30s from a corner of the hall: “Oh my God! This game has ‘cut’ again; one number just cut my game. Oh God, why now? I would have won N10 million now.”

Meanwhile, everybody was minding their business, booking the game across the counter and continuing to monitor afterwards the outcome on their mobile phones.

Speaking to Saturday Sun, one of the regular players, Solomon Ade, 35, said: “People who patronise betting/gambling are between the ages of 18 and 50. They are mostly men, because it is very rare to see women patronising betting. There are more men in the business than women, because most women find it difficult to part with small amounts.

“However, some women go through the men to play the game in order to avoid societal stigma where people see gambling as an exclusive reserve of men. I have a female friend who always asks me to find her a code for betting. So women’s involvement in the game of betting is very rare.

“Since I have been betting I have made some money, ranging from N100,000 -N200,000. It is a good business if you can curtail greed. You need to be content with the little you win, hoping that, one day, you will win big.”

Another player, Emma Akpus, 30, told Saturday Sun: “Businessmen, unemployed persons and students of higher institutions patronise betting. The hope of winning one day keeps them thinking positively.

“A lady from Mando area of Kaduna city won N30 million and she was paid. But it’s very rare for someone to win such an amount. Such big cash happens once in a blue moon.”

Growing betting culture in Enugu

In Nsukka, the Enugu North Senatorial District of Enugu State the betting trend is the same, reports Felix Ikem. Every day, people, especially the young, throng betting outlets in the area to place their bets, as well as check the results or cash out their wins.

Saturday Sun investigation in the area revealed that betting and gambling have become the fastest-growing business in the area and its environs, providing alternative survival means to many youths.

Surprisingly, the gambling trend, which hitherto was said to be activities of a few irresponsible ones in the society, has spread across all ages and classes of people, as findings also revealed that many working-class men and some women are actively engaged in betting/gambling activities.

In Nsukka, Bet9ja and BetKing are the leading betting and gambling organisations in the area, with outlets in almost all the major streets, markets, shopping malls, motor parks, etc., in the area. They are always open for business on a daily basis, including Sundays and on public holidays.

A visit to the Bet9ja office at Total Roundabout, and BetKing at Aku Road, all in Nsukka town, showed that youths between the ages of 18 and 45 years were patronising the betting offices most.

In a separate interview, some of the youths, who engage in betting and gambling activities, debunked the insinuations that those engaging in betting and gambling activities were an irresponsible set of people. Instead, they insisted that the platforms had become a surviving grace to many a good number of them in the face of the dwindling fortune of the country’s economy.

Chinedu Omeke, a barber and a father of five, said that Bet9ja and other betting companies were the reason many youths are surviving the harsh economic reality in the country.

“Look, without betting, the crime rate would have been worse than it is now in our country. For me, I trust betting and gambling more than I trust the Nigeria government in providing social amenities, creating jobs for unemployed graduates, and providing dividends of democracy, because the process is simple, transparent, and unambiguous. When you win or lose, you will see it clearly and what you win is what you get — no secrecy, no manipulation, no INEC, no BIVAS; it’s straight and direct.

“I bet on football games. Every week I spent up to N5000 on betting. Sometimes I win; sometimes I don’t win, but, generally, I have won double of what I spent in games betting. There was a particular time I won N264,000 with just N400 ticket. I have won N5,000, N10,000, N80,000, and more at different times. At times, I will bet for weeks or months without winning anything.

“The secrets to winning big depend on luck and one’s ability to predict correctly. The process is simple and transparent. It is a game in which, if you study the games you are betting very well and if the odds favour your predictions and you stake big money, then your chance of winning big is there,” he said.

Sunday Ugwu, a graduate of Political Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), said that betting was the main thing that had been sustaining him for the past four years he graduated and finished his mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

“I came from a poor background, and all my efforts to secure funds and set up a business failed, and I don’t want to soil my hand by joining cyber crimes (Yahoo Yahoo). So I resorted to game betting.

“Two years ago, I won N700,000 with N500, to the glory of God I was able to secure a corner in Ogige Main Market, Nsukka, where I’m currently selling phone accessories.”

A female ticket attendant at one of the popular betting offices along Enugu Road, Nsukka, who pleaded anonymity told Saturday Sun that she attends up to 500 customers on a daily basis, ranging from 14 to 40 years.

“If you stay here a little longer, you will be surprised to see the classes of people who are coming here to stake their bets or check their tickets. There are also others, mostly the working class, who use their smartphones. These categories don’t come to our office, because they have downloaded a betting app on their phones, as well as linked it to their bank account numbers, so they do everything online and receive their winnings directly to their personal bank accounts.”

Bettors bank on hope in Rivers

Betting is a game of hope. This is the view of some bettors in Rivers State. They feel the next game would pay and, with hope  they would still play more.

As reported by Tony John, residents of Port Harcourt —Chuks Dike, Etim Dan, Emeka Chukuzo and Okogbula Ike —shared their views on betting with Saturday Sun reporter.

Etim said: “Yes, of course, that’s the motivation they get. They see, hear and also experience it. In most cases, they see or hear from other people and, of course, many of the best players are fans of different football clubs.”

For Emeka, anyone who wants to win big should be ready to stake high: “For someone who is playing with N1,000, you are expecting a return of like N10,000. But, with these same odds, if you place N100,000, you’ll be getting N1 million.  So, the higher the stake, the bigger the wins.”

Ogbobula Ike said that he had been in the game for several years. He said betting was a game of hope for the lion-hearted.  He plays once in a while. But his winnings outnumber his losses. “I have used N200 to win N30,000 and N500 to win N7,000.  So, you can see the gains I have made. This has also motivated me to keep playing.”

For most Nigerian young bettors, the greatest consolation for a losing streak is based on hope that tomorrow would be better than today, whether this miraculous day comes or not.