Sports betting in Nigeria: A controversial but thriving industry

Sports betting is a thriving business in Nigeria and many other countries. Photo: Shutterstock.

Sports betting has a long and interesting history in Nigeria, dating back to the pre-colonial era. However, it wasn’t until the 21st century that sports betting became a popular pastime in the country.

The first form of sports betting in Nigeria was known as “pools betting,” which involved predicting the outcome of football matches. Pools betting was introduced by the British colonial government in the 1920s and was initially targeted at expatriates living in Nigeria. However, it soon became popular among Nigerians as well.

In the 1950s, the Nigerian Football Pools Association (NFPA) was formed to regulate pools betting in the country. The NFPA was responsible for collecting pools entries and distributing the proceeds to winners. Pools betting remained popular throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and the NFPA became a major force in Nigerian sports and social life.

The 1990s saw the emergence of a new form of sports betting in Nigeria – sports lottery. Sports lottery involved betting on the outcome of sporting events, such as football matches, and was similar to pools betting in many ways. However, sports lottery was run by private companies rather than the government, and it offered higher payouts than pools betting.

The first sports lottery company in Nigeria was Premier Lotto, which was established in 2001. Premier Lotto quickly became popular among Nigerians, and it was soon followed by other sports lottery companies, such as Winners Golden Bet, NairaBET, and Bet9ja.

Today, sports betting is a thriving industry in Nigeria. The industry in Nigeria has seen significant growth, thanks in part to the widespread availability of