Special Feature
Meet The Owners Of Top Sport Betting Companies In Nigeria
Today, sports betting has become a thriving industry in Nigeria. The industry has seen significant growth, thanks in part to the widespread availability of smartphones and the internet.
Sports betting in Nigeria dates as far back as the pre-colonial era. The first form of sports betting in Nigeria was known as “pools betting,” which involved predicting the outcome of football matches.
Many sports betting companies now offer online betting services, allowing Nigerians to place bets on their favourite sporting events from the comfort of their own homes and offices.
Below are the top betting companies in Nigeria and the individuals who own them.
Premier Lotto Limited – Sir Kessington Adebutu
Premier Lotto Limited, also known as Baba Ijebu, is a Nigerian gaming company that offers lotto services as well as betting on major sporting events. It was established in 2001 and is the first known Nigerian lottery game operator.
The founder and current Chief Executing Officer of the company is Chief Kessington Adebukunola Adebutu.
NairaBet – Oloye Akin Alabi
Akin Alabi popularly called Otunba Akin Alabi is the founder of Nairabet, Nigeria’s first and largest sports betting website. Nairabet officially began operation in 2009.
In 2018, Alabi resigned as the CEO because of his political aspiration.
In March 2019, he was elected as a member of House of Representatives, Egbeda/Ona Ara Federal Constituency under the APC party. Alabi is also the founder and owner of Lekki United F.C.
According to traffic ranking sites, Nairabet is the most visited African sports bookmaking website.
Bet9ja – Kunle Soname
Kunle Soname is the Founder and chairman of the online gaming website Bet9ja. He co-founded it with Ayo Ojuroye who is the company’s CEO while he is the company’s chairman.
Bet9ja was able to break into the market and make waves when it introduced offline playing which invariably turned out to be a reliable source of employment for Nigerian youths.
As of September 2018, according to Alexa.com, Bet9ja was the second most visited website in Nigeria and second only to Google.
Kunle Soname is the first Nigerian to purchase a top European football club – the Portuguese club, Clube Desportivo Feirense. Securing over 70% of that football club.
Merrybet – Opeoluwa Fashakin
Merrybet is another popular online sport betting platform. It was founded by Opeoluwa Fashakin.
The graduate of Computer Science from the Lagos State University once worked as a regional manager for Maxipoint Server Africa. He is also the founder and CEO of EpaySystem,
SportyBet – Sudeep Dalamal Ramnani
Sportybet is an international Sports betting and real-money gaming operator.
Sudeep Dalamal Ramnani is the CEO and founder of Sportybet. He is an Indian based in London. The graduate of Economics from the London School of Economics is one of the supporters of the growing African Internet Ecosystm. He invests in Fintech and mobile payments, along other profitable ventures.
Surebet 247– Olasupo Badmos
Olasupo Badmus is the co-founder and CEO of SureBet247. He co-founded the company together with Sherif Olaniyan.
The game industry, especially Playstation, and their business connection with Chessplus International ltd. served as inspirations for them to create the betting company. Following their graduation from university, they began their online business, which quickly evolved into the current Surebet247.
Betway – Chris Obosi
Betway is a premier online sports betting brand. It is one of the top Betting Companies In Nigeria. It is a subsidiary of Super Group (SGHC) Limited, the holding company for leading global online sports betting and gaming businesses.