Why the Nigerian Online Gambling Market Is Attracting More Bookmakers

The online betting industry in Africa is growing at a tremendous pace and more African countries are opening up for betting companies to set up shop in their country.

Several African countries are now hosts to several bookmakers, but Nigeria undoubtedly is the prime destination for betting companies.

As of today, there are more than thirty (30) active betting companies providing online betting and entertainment to Nigerians.

But why is Nigeria viewed as the darling of both indigenous and foreign betting companies?

Many theories have been put forward as to the reasons why the West African country is now the favourite operational destination for many bookmakers.

The advancement in mobile phone technology, internet penetration and the enormous population of Nigeria are some of the factors believed to be driving the rise of online gambling in the country.

We will examine some of the factors that make Nigeria an attractive market for betting companies.

Rapidly growing Population

It is a known fact that Nigeria is the most populous African country. Nigeria ranks among the countries with the highest population.

According to Worldometer’s estimates, Nigeria has a population of 218 million people.

The large pool of potential customers explains why betting companies are flocking to the West African country.

Passion for Sports

Nigerians love their sports! Sometimes almost to the point of fanaticism.

Aside from the popular sports like football, quite a lot of Nigerians follow other sports like Basketball, Boxing, Athletics, and many other sports.

Due to the religious following that sports get generally, many inhabitants of the country are inclined to make profits from their passions.

Promotions offers

Betting companies are always looking to acquire more customers to increase their bottom line.

And one of the ways to win over new customers is to offer them various betting welcome bonuses and offers as curated by this site.

The thoughts of enjoying freebies will encourage new players to sign up on a betting site.

Increased access to the internet

Another reason responsible for the astronomical numbers of bookmakers setting up operations in Nigeria is internet penetration. Nigeria has one of the highest figures in internet usage in Africa.

Recent data from the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) shows that internet penetration in Nigeria stands at 44.30% with 84 million internet subscribers.

No doubt access to online betting sites is a major contributory factor to the presence of numerous betting companies.

Mobile technology

The majority of the population in Nigeria uses one form of mobile technology or the other. While most people use mobile phones, there are other classes of devices like ipads with access to the internet.

Nigeria currently has more than 170 million mobile phone users, according to available data.

With more than 80% of internet users browsing the World Wide Web via their mobile devices, it is only sensible for betting companies to pitch their tents in Nigeria.

It is expected that the number of Nigerians using mobile devices will increase in the coming months, and that can only mean that more Nigerians will be able to access online betting services.

Economic Situation

Nigeria has the biggest economy in the African region. This is due to the fact that the country has an enormous GDP.

As at the end of 2021, Nigeria recorded Africa’s highest GDP of $514.05 Billion.

However, the economic reputation doesn’t translate into economic power for the average Nigerian.

Thus, many Nigerians have turned to sports betting as a means of augmenting their revenue.

As such, the customer base will only continue to increase, giving betting companies a large customer base.