Bookmakers are betting on a football-mad Nigeria
Online sports betting is thriving in football-crazed Nigeria thanks largely to payment systems developed by domestic technology firms that are beginning to make online business more viable.
For years, mobile payments have not developed in Nigeria as they have in countries like Kenya, where M-Pesa Safaricom money transfers have fostered a cashless payment culture.
Fear of electronic fraud and slow internet speeds are holding back Nigerian online consumers, but betting shops claim that the new fast digital payment systems underpinning their websites are changing attitudes towards online transactions and mobile betting apps.
We are seeing a significant increase in the number of payment solutions available. All of this is definitely changing the gaming space.
"We have seen a significant growth in the number of payment solutions available. All this is definitely changing the gaming space," said Seun Anibaba, CEO of Lagos State Lotteries Board, the gambling regulator in Nigeria's commercial capital.
"Operators will go with those who are faster, who can connect to their platform with fewer problems and disruptions," he said, adding that sports betting taxes in Lagos State have increased from 30% to 40% in 2021 compared to 2020.
According to the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System ( NIBSS ), which is owned by the central bank and licensed banks, this increase was accompanied by an increase in web payments .
In 2019, there were 14 million web payments totalling 132 billion naira ($420 million). In 2020, the number of transactions rose to 29 million worth 185 billion and in the first quarter of 2021, there were almost 10 million worth 61 billion.
With a young population of almost 190 million people, increasing use of mobile phones and falling data costs, Nigeria has long been seen as a great opportunity for online business - with consumers feeling comfortable with electronic payments.
Bookmakers profiting from Nigeria's World Cup football frenzy say they are finding that payment systems created by local start-ups such as Paystack are becoming popular online. A full list of the best betting sites in Ghana can be found at Bettinglion.Africa.
Paystack and another local startup Flutterwave, founded in 2016, are competing with Nigerian company Interswitch, which was established in 2002 and was the main platform used by businesses operating in Nigeria.
"We added Paystack as one of our payment methods without any pomp, without any notice to our customers and within a month, it became the most used payment method on the website," said Akin Alabi, founder of NairabBET.
He said NairaBET, the country's second largest bookmaker, now has 2 million loyal customers on its website, up from 500,000 in 2018, while Paystack remains the most popular payment option since it was added in late 2017.
Paystack was created by two Nigerian computer science graduates, Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, who received funding early in Silicon Valley's Y-Combinator programme. How to use welcome bonuses for betting also described on this site.
In December 2016, it raised $1.3 million from investors including China's Tencent and Comcast Ventures in the US.
Paystack, based in the crazy Ikeja district of Lagos, said the number of monthly transactions processed has grown from 8,000 in early 2020 to more than 900,000 as of June 2021.
"At the beginning of 2020, we were processing about $3,000 per month. Today we are processing more than $11 million every month," said Emmanuel Quartey, head of growth at Paystack.
He said an ecosystem of developers has emerged around Paystack, creating software to integrate the platform into websites. "We have seen the growth of this community and they have enthralled us," said Quartey.
Paystack said it enables payments for a number of betting shops, as well as a wide range of businesses, from utilities to transport companies and insurance company Axa Mansard.
Flutterwave, co-founded by Nigerian entrepreneur Iinoluwa Aboyeji, is also backed by the Y-Combinator programme, as well as venture capitalists Greycroft Partners and Green Visor Capital and Omidyar Network. Last year, it raised $10 million.
