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Nigeria Sports Betting

Nigeria is a massive potential online sports betting market. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and has the 7th-largest population in the world, ahead of Russia, Japan, and Germany. Nigerians love to gamble on daily and weekly lotteries, while Internet gamblers have access to online sportsbooks, casinos, and lottery sites. The News Agency of Nigeria reported in 2014 that 60 million Nigerians between the age of 18 and 40 gamble each year.

This Nigerian sports betting guide provides information on Nigerian sports betting laws, as well as the regulatory agencies which enforce gaming laws. It also provides data on Nigerian sports bettors, a discussion of brick-and-mortar sports betting shops, and information on the Nigerian online sportsbook industry. Later, I provide recommendations for safe operators in the unregulated online sports betting scene, along with links to resources you can use to study gaming sites yourself.

Nigerian Sports Betting Laws

The Gaming Machines Prohibition Act of 1977 during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration made it illegal to import slot machines to Nigeria. Licensed land-based casinos could important slots. Chapter 22 of the Criminal Code Act 1990 during the Ibrahim Babangida era redefined the types of gambling which were illegal. The National Lottery Act of 2004 established the Lotto Nigeria during the Abdulsalami Abubakar years, including the Powerball-style Mega Hammer national lottery and quick draw games. A 2007 gaming amendment decoupled sports betting from lottery gaming, but otherwise allows both gaming types.

Nigeria’s live sports betting industry is heavily regulated, with local bookmakers the favorite of bettors. In the land-based sports betting niche, Betland and Winas Bet each have over 100 sports betting shops across Nigeria. Despite the many land-based gambling laws, Nigeria has no online gambling statutes. Nigerian authorities allow unregulated international online sportsbooks to accept Nigeria sports bettors. Nigeria thus is the largest online sports betting market in Africa.

Safety of Online Sports Betting in Nigeria

Though the Nigerian online sports betting is unregulated, the industry is safe. The Nigerian government makes no attempt to ban offshore online sportsbooks. Since Nigeria has 190 million potential sports bettors, almost all of the top UK and continental European online sportsbooks accept Nigerian punters. The safety of online sports betting in Nigeria is good, because it is full of legitimate, competitive gaming companies.

Sports bettors need to choose the safest bookmakers, though. Only select the famous and reputable online sportsbooks. I’ll discuss how to find the best Nigerian online sportsbooks below. For those who are still uncertain, I’ll provide recommendations for sites I know to be safe.

Catering to Nigerian Sports Bettors

Online sportsbooks cater to Nigerian sports bettors by offering access to many sports markets, competitive welcome bonuses, live/in-play betting via smartphones, and lots of football wagers. Nigerians speak 520 different languages, so it is unrealistic to expect sportsbooks to translate their pages into every Nigerian language.

Since English is the official language of Nigeria, most players should expect to speak in English instead of Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and the many other Nigerian languages and dialects. The top European and UK sportsbooks also do not use deposits and withdrawals with Naira, so players can expect to use British pounds, US dollars, or bitcoins.

Best Nigerian Betting Sites

he best Nigerian betting sites are those licensed in the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, and Malta. Like Nigeria, Gibraltar and Malta were part of the British Empire, so their systems are based on English common law. Online sportsbooks licensed by part of the Commonwealth of Nations also feature the sports markets that betting enthusiasts in Nigeria want.

Bet & Win At Sportsbetting

Top Ranked Nigerian Betting Site – Sportsbetting.ag

• Accepts all major credit cards
• Accepts Litecoin, Bitcoin other cryptos
• Large assortment of sports betting markets
• Competitive odds for betting on many sports
• European football specific bonuses offered for the Cup

Why Is Sportsbook.ag The Best?

The SportsBetting.ag betting site offers most of the biggest sports, including Football, Baseball, Basketball, and Hockey (read review). They also have other international sports like soccer, rugby, and cricket. For the avid bettor, you can use their Live Betting to place bets in real-time. Pick from among dozens of different wagers you can place on a single match-up, along with great prop bets.

SportsBetting.ag offers new members plenty of bonuses, like their 50% up to $1,000 in Free Bets using the code “SB1000“. For those that use Bitcoin, can take advantage of their $20 up to $500 Bitcoin bonus using the promo code “BETCRYPTO“. Take advantage of their bonuses, live betting, and incredible sports betting odds with a sign-up bonus of 50% Up To $1,000. Check out Sportsbetting.ag to place bets and win!

Bet & Win At Betonline

Great For Betting On International Sports – Betonline Sportsbook

• Accepts all major cryptocurrencies
• Accepts all major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard)
• Posts sports betting odds earlier than others
• Large cash or crypto deposit bonus and endless reloads
• Large bet on point spreads plus other popular sports bets

Why Bet At BetOnline?

BetOnline (read review) is one of the most versatile sites when it comes to deposit options. They accept a variety of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dash. These are by far the best choice for players as they have an extremely high deposit and withdrawal amount.

BetOnline offers loads of year-round promotions for major sports. Their standard deposit bonus is 50% Up To $1,000 for players on their first deposit (newly signed-up). This deposit comes with a 10x rollover. They also offer several promotions such as $25 live betting freeplay, $50 mobile betting freeplay, and a risk-free $25 play prop bet. Check out BetOnline to place bets and win!

Nigerian Deposits and Withdrawals

Most Nigerian online sportsbooks do not support payments with Naira. In most cases, the US dollar is the preferred deposit and withdrawal method. One bit of good news is that Nigerian sportsbooks accept many payment methods, so you’ll find the deposit and withdrawal options below.

Nigerian Deposit Options You Can Use

Nigerian Withdrawal Options You Can Use

Nigerian Sports Betting History

Traditionally, Nigerians bet on sports through the pool houses. Gamblers were mature adults and retirees — and almost entirely male. Pool operators would provide tickets that allowed players to gamble on English Premier League matches, usually with several matches grouped together in one bet. Napping was similar to parlays, where a gambler would pick 3 matches they expected to end in a draw. The most popular form of gambling was perming (picking) numbers in a draw. These days, Nigerian sports betting is spread throughout the wider population, with gamblers preferring to make smartphone sports bets.

Nigeria has two land-based casinos: Federal Palace Hotel & Casino in Lagos and Transcorp Hilton in Abuja. Betland and Winasbet are the largest land-based sports betting operators in Nigeria, with betting shops in all the major cities: Lagos, Ilorin, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Enugu, Warri, and Aba. Only in cities like Kano, Ibadan, and Benin City, where Islamic or Christian majorities frown on gambling, are betting shops not prominent. Online sports betting is far more prominent, with 265 separate online gambling operators which accept players from Nigeria.

Nigerian Sports Betting Resources

Nigeria only created betting regulators in the past 10 to 15 years. Two different gambling regulators now exist: The National Lottery Regulation Corporation and the Lagos State Lotteries board. Nigeria is gaining a reputation as a leader among African nations when it comes to gaming regulations. Nigeria hosted the World Regulatory Briefing (WrB) Africa event in 2016. The Lagos-based event brought together gaming regulators from across Sub-Saharan Africa.