- Experts worry as South East youths abandon their shops, work places for sports betting
- Betting companies say it provides empowerment for Nigerian youths
- Senate moves to regulate the system
Chukwuma Idike was a renowned welder. He had been a welder in Nsukka metropolis for the past ten years with a considerable number of patronizing customers under his belt and a measure of financial success.
However, according to Mr. Idike, things started turning upside down when he joined his friend Onyeka to engage in side hustle by engaging in sports betting.
According to him, ” I was doing in well when I was fully into welding work. I have even built my own house in my hometown when I was in the work.
“Nevertheless, things started going bad when my friend Onyeka introduced me into sports betting. That was in 2018 when took me to one Sports betting shop to watch World cup. He even betted for one match with N500 and won N15,000. I was thrilled by the success so much so that the next day, I told my friend to teach me how to bet which he did.
” I staked N1000 and I won a whooping N50,000. Since then, I have stuck with betting. It was a like an evil spirit in me. It has made loose a lot of money. I sold many of my equipment to place a bet which I will eventually loose.
” Last year, during the FA cup, I was about to win N45,000,000 but one game just cut my coupon, and I lost N50,000 I used to place the betting.”
Narrating how he was rescued from the betting maniac, Idike told our reporter that “it took the intervention of my elder brother who eventually spiritual for me to come out of the situation.
“Before now, I cannot stay a day without staking out like N2000 on betting. I always hope and and believe that I will win which didn’t happen often, yet, I didn’t know how to stay without it. It was a kind of an addiction.”
The story of Chukwuma Idike is unfortunately that of many average young men in the south East Nigeria who have become addicted to sports betting in recent times.
Many of them have abandoned their shops to sports betting while some have virtually become so much addicted to it that everything they earn goes to sports betting.
A visit to betting shops
When our reporter visited some betting shops at Nsukka, in Enugu state, some young men were seen inside the centre, selecting their betting choice.
One of the youths who gave his name as Onyebuchi told our reporter that he cannot stay without sports betting.
“How can I stay without sports betting? I cannot. It is very hard for me.”
Asked how many years he has been betting, Onyebuchi said that “I started betting since three years ago when I came up to Nsukka metropolis.”
On how much he stakes in betting, he told our reporter that ” I usually stake about N2000 everyday for betting.”
Asked how often does he win, Onyebuchi said that ” I win once in a while but not all the time. Like today, I won N15,000 which I have used N10,000 out of it to place for another match coming up around 3pm today. If I win that one, I will place like N20,000 for another match.”
When our reporter asked him why he couldn’t use the one he has won to console himself for the past lost by not betting again, he stressed that ” that is the spirit of sports betting. You don’t take your win home just like that. You use it to bet again for a better tomorrow.”
In a chat with one of the betting shops computer attendants in Owerri , Imo state capital who gave her name as Chidimma, she told our reporter that ” many of them stay as long as six hours in our shops, waiting for the results of their betting. Many of them who stay such long are mostly those who engage in virtual betting.”
Speaking further Chidimma said that ” majority of them have abandoned their shops for sports betting which they will eventually not win. Many believe that it is the easiest means of earning money without stress.
According to a report from a study conducted by Dr. Darragh McGee of the University of Bath, the relentless involvement of betting companies in football has drawn an army of youths (boys and girls) into strongly associating their support for the game with betting, leading to dire consequences for many.
McGee noted that the explosion in marketing and sponsorship, combined with the ease of online betting via smartphones, has resulted in the ‘gamblification’ of watching football.
In any case, investigations by WITHIN NIGERIA revealed that these youths who indulge in betting activities borrow as much as N20, 000 for their daily stakes. Some of them win, while some lose.
By and large, it is a two-way thing; when the prediction comes through and the individual who wagers his money wins, the company will have to pay. However, if he loses, the bet company smiles.
Investigations also show that the list of sports betting companies in Nigeria seems to be growing at geometrical proportion even as they come in different platforms and operational styles.
Swelling list of betting platforms in Nigeria
Some of the betting platforms in the country include Zebet, 1xbet, Naijabet, Nairabet, Betway, Bet9ja, Sportybet, Lionsbet, Merrybet, Surebet247, Betfarm, Betland, 1960bet, Betking, 9japredict, Lovingbet, Winnersgoldenbet, Bet365naija, Championsbet, Saharabet, Marsleisure, 360bet, Superiorbet, UBCbet, Nairastake, Betdey, R & S Bet and Naijagaming.
Also included are Megabet, Bigmoneybet, Naija4win, Powerbet9ja, Collabobet, Yangabet, Ebonybet, Fortunebetng, Globalbet, Betfada, Megastarbet, Betabet2000, Rookiebet, Bonanzawin, Betbiga, Zenithbet, Kingdombet, Kwikbet, Doxxbet, Betpawa, Betfarm, Netbet, Emeraldbet, Accessbet, Blackbet, Hamabet, Robabet, Citybet and Wakabet.
Though risky, analysts affirmed that the reward that comes with sports betting helps to assuage the risks.
So, through out cities in the South East and even the country as a whole, betting shops dot the streets and many Nigerians stake various sums of money daily in the hope to get something in return.
In the past, it used to be affair for people between the ages of 18 and 45 but the trend seems to be taking a new dimension as school children, market women, housewives and law enforcement agents have joined the league.
Findings showed that while school children are committing their ‘lunch money’ in the range of N100 as their wager, the adults are putting in their daily contributions, ranging from N500 to N5, 000 depending on the odd placed on teams.
Managers say it has reduced biting unemployment
In a chat with our reporter the shop managers, Bet9ja, one of the famous licensed betting companies licensed betting companies in the country at Abakiliki in Ebonyi state, Mr. Vincent Mgbada said that irrespective of what people think about sports betting, the companies are really empowering Nigeria, especially the youth, and in so doing helping to curb crime among them.
“The issue of unemployment cannot be over emphasised. Lots of youths are jobless and few of us decided that we want to be independent and create employment, which is key in the country.
“Betting has drastically reduced the crime rate. So, government needs to assist us in terms of finance, getting loan like that of forex. I will only urge the government to soft-pedal on the issue of forex. If we can get forex from the banks and reduce taxes, it will go a long way to boost the business.”
Dr. Adedeji Oyenuga, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Lagos State University (LASU), said betting is an addiction and not a means of livelihood. He noted that a person that wins a particular amount might end up losing the amount or much more if he or she becomes addicted to it.
“You are not addicted to it when you do it once and run away. Those that engage in it on a regular basis are addicted to it. Even the owners of the betting companies or platforms don’t bet because they know that it is a 50-50 chance. You know that we cannot have the head and the tail at the same time; you either have the head or the tail. Majority of those that are addicted to sport betting are those who follow football religiously,” he said.
Oyenuga admitted that the trend has helped to shift the attention of many youths from crimes such as robbery, shoplifting, burglary and pick pocketing, among others. He, however, disagreed that sports betting is an investment opportunity, stressing that it’s just a belief that “you can use a small amount of money to make a huge amount.”
According to him, betting is gambling. He, however, said there is a great difference between betting and the traditional gambling with dice on the street. He stated that betting is legitimate, as the government through a law recognises it as a business.
“Before now, we used to have popular pools, such as Face-to-face, Apollo and football matches from the UK, you predict and win. All of those that played it at the time were more of addicts; they tried to predict 52 matches but what we have today is bigger.
“Then you had to wait for a particular time of the game to see the result of the matches, but now we see the result of the game live as played across the continents,” Oyenuga explained.
In any case, with a growing population of over 160 million people, and youth unemployment estimated at 50 per cent, about 60 million youths seem to have channeled their energy into sports betting, placing bets on different matches played in European and other nations daily.
Investigations showed that sports betting companies have become the largest employer of youths in the country. In Enugu state alone, betting outfits have taken a large proportion of the youths off the streets as they eke a living from the business.
If the analysis by an agent of 9japredict, a betting company, is anything to go by, sports betting outfits seem to enjoy more during the regular football seasons in Europe.
“We have more customers, lets say, about 400 people coming to our office to place bets on match days during football seasons. But the number reduces to about 120 to 150 at off-seasons,” the agent said.
He revealed that some betting company could generate up to N18million to N20million monthly and spend just about N5million to N7million to pay winners.
It is Tuesday morning and while many are struggling to get to their respective places of employment, dozens of young men are gathered in one of the thousands of betting shops scattered all over Abia state, huddled over television screens while simultaneously scanning their phones with a frown on their faces, hoping and praying for that ‘big break’.
Nobody holds more hope than a bettor, our reporter gathered. Everyday, they place a bet, they hope today is their lucky day; today is the day they cart away millions of naira in winnings. For most, that day never comes but that doesn’t stem the hope or kills the addiction.
Statistics reveal that Nigerians spend an average of N308 billion on betting daily. Good or not, the betting industry is now one of the biggest in the country whilst thousands of youths have become addicted. In the old days, betting was predominantly amongst older men but with the birth of football bet, young and old alike are caught in the fray, even women and the underage are not exempted, as everyone is looking for free money.
By and large, spending some minutes with a betting agent at Obollo-Afor, Udenu LGA of Enugu state at his outlet in Joseph (surname withheld) told WITHIN NIGERIA that he had been looking for a job for several years after leaving school with no luck.
“I graduated from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka six years ago and was unable to get a job and not from lack of trying. People were offering me factory work and while I am not looking down on it, I know it is not for me. One of my friends introduced me to Bet9ja and even though I was reluctant initially, this is what I want to do with my life.”
However, with the growing rate of betting companies and swelling number of youths involved in the betting game, it is very obvious that there is no end in sight of the youths betting in south east and Nigeria in general.
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