Online Betting in Nigeria is Easy!
Find out everything about sports betting in Nigeria. Legal bookmakers, independent ratings, and sets of bookmakers based on various criteria. Information about tournaments, matches, and odds. Expert and objective view on online betting — only on Match.Center.
Last updated: 28.9.2023
General information about gambling in Nigeria
Sports betting in Nigeria has a long history: back in colonial times, Nigerians widely placed bets, for instance, on billiard. Gambling was extremely popular with the older generation; today, in Nigeria, betting becomes more popular with young people.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in the last few years, over 60 million Nigerians aged between 18 and 40 regularly bet on sports. Every day, they spend about ₦2.5 billion (approximately €5.5 million) on sports betting. In a year, this amount exceeds ₦900 billion (more than €2 billion). For comparison, the country’s annual budget is about ₦13.5 trillion (€30.5 billion).
On this page, we will cover the reasons for the popularity of online sports betting in Nigeria and the current situation in this market. We will also analyse the most common types of sports betting in Nigeria, provide a list of top legal betting companies, give some tips on selecting of a suitable bookmaker and sports betting.
Many people see betting as a way to make a living, especially in low-income countries, such as Nigeria. Please, do not believe those who promise consistently successful betting. Only the bookmaker wins consistently. The vast majority of bettors lose more than they win. But, of course, they like to remember only their wins. By betting with a bookmaker, you “buy” adrenaline. Please, regard betting as an intellectual entertainment only, as we, Match.Center experts, do.
Online Sports Betting in Nigeria
Nigeria is one of the largest and most competitive gambling markets in Africa. Currently, Nigeria has a population of almost 217 million people, and it is the most populous country in the continent. Betting popularity is stimulated by two main factors:
In Nigeria, sports betting and other gambling were forbidden until 2004. After their legalisation, the activity of gambling companies became regulated by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC). According to the National Lottery Act of 2005, all online sport betting sites are required to be licenced.
There is a second regulator: the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LSGA). They grant licences to operate in Lagos State, the smallest but most populous region in Nigeria.
To get the NLRC licence, the bookmaker must pay a fee of €4,000, as well as annually pay €10,000 + 5% of the annual turnover. An application for the LSGA costs €1,000. After that, the regulator charges operators €100,000 for the year of operation, the amount of annual deductions is 2.5% of the annual turnover. For the licence renewal, the bookmaker must pay €20,000.
The online space is not mentioned in official documents; for Nigerian users, there is only one restriction: only persons over the age of 18 are allowed to bet on sports. If you are of legal age, local officials do not care, if you place bets on legal, licenced sites or on offshore ones.
The fact that the National Lottery Act does not mention anything about internet resources, forces online companies to comply with the rules applicable to land-based casinos and betting shops. Lotteries, various types of casino games and sports betting are available for site users. The act also regulates the operation of slot machines, including their virtual analogues.
Top 10 Bookmakers in Nigeria
Last updated: 01.09.2023
Live streaming with the schedule of broadcasts
Comparison of top bookmakers in Nigeria
Bookmaker | Selection of markets to bet on | Apps | Streaming | Payments | Registration and support | Legal information | Navigability | Total rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1xBet | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 9 | 8.3 |
Betwinner | 8 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 10 | 7.1 |
22Bet | 8 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8.5 | 6.6 |
Betway | 7 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7.5 | 6.5 |
Wazobet | 7 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 9.5 | 5.5 | 10 | 5.9 |
Bet9ja | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7.5 | 10 | 5.8 |
BetBonanza | 8 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6.5 | 8 | 9.5 | 5.7 |
Baba Ijebu | 6 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7.5 | 4 | 10 | 5.6 |
1960Bet | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7.5 | 4 | 10 | 5.3 |
How We Review Betting Sites
Match.Center analyses the betting industry in detail and provides customers with independent data. We carefully assess each betting company, checking out licences, bonuses, selection of markets to bet on, odds, the usability of the site, payment methods etc. Based on our metrics, we have compiled a list of the best sports betting sites in Nigeria.
Match.Center pays special attention to football, the number one sport both for fans and bookmakers. We have a page fully dedicated to football betting sites in Nigeria. We have analysed odds, margin, the number and types of football bets on Nigerian betting sites.
There are several key criteria that we follow making our ratings.
Legality and data protection
When checking a bookmaker, we focus on whether the company has a valid licence to operate in a particular country. Moreover, we also check the international legal status of the bookmaker (licences of Malta, Curaçao, Costa Rica etc.). We consider it important to inform bettors whether they can bet legally with a particular bookmaker and whether its operation is legal. If, on the bookmaker’s site, the information about its licence is absent or hidden deep in the settings and presented vaguely, we will not recommend it as a trustworthy betting service.
Furthermore, Match.Center pays attention to whether encryption protocols are used by the betting site, whether there is two-factor authentication and so on. Bettors need to be sure that the bookmaker has a legal status and reliably protects customer data.
Bonuses
Match.Center analyses the promotional sections of betting sites in detail and compiles step-by-step instructions for readers on how to get bonuses. Generous and varied promotions with clear activation rules are a huge plus for the bookmaker. A no deposit bonus is one of popular types of awards for bettors. It is offered by some football betting sites in Nigeria to attract new customers.
Markets and Odds
Match.Center assesses the selection of betting markets based on three criteria:
Mobile app
Currently, every decent betting company tries to develop a mobile app both for Android and iOS. Modern customers tend to bet from their smartphones, that is why the app availability is an important feature to assess bookmakers.
Yes, many betting companies have mobile site versions, and for many bettors, this will be enough. But, form Match.Center’s experience, leading bookmakers try to incorporate all new features into their apps: it can be a fingerprint login feature or better optimisation. In bookmaker reviews, Match.Center pays special attention to such aspects – we thoroughly test apps, assessing the following parameters:
We personally test each programme and make an honest expert opinion. On our site, you will find a selection of Nigerian betting apps, where we have analysed mobile apps of various betting companies.
Streaming
The bookmaker can earn a good rating from Match.Center thanks to streaming. We say that betting is an entertainment and streaming is a very important part of it. However, streaming is not enough to get 10 points. It needs to be user-friendly and cover something more than, for instance, table tennis tournaments.
Payment systems
Most bettors use one or two convenient payment systems. Most likely, it does not really matter to you how many deposit and withdrawal methods a particular bookmaker has. But Match.Center experts believe that the more deposit and withdrawal methods the customer has, the better. A wide range of available payment systems indicates that the betting company is ready to offer services to any customer and provide them with bet acceptance and payouts.
Customer support
A very important point in our assessment: sooner or later, those who place bets contact the customer support service. You probably will not need the selection of all 30 markets to bet on or all 10 deposit methods. But you will definitely need the customer support.
The reputation of bookmakers is largely based on how they communicate with bettors and how quickly and competently they answer customers’ questions. Cool betting companies organise several feedback channels: chats, emails, telephones, messengers and social networks. If, at the same time, the support works 24/7 and processes requests quickly – it will be a 10 from us.
Popular Sports to Bet on in Nigeria
The active development of sport in Nigeria began after the declaration of the independence in October 1960. The country established the National Sports Council, later transformed into the Sports Commission. It organises and holds national championships, and is in charge of international relations in this sphere.
In Nigeria, the greatest development was reached in such sports as football, basketball, tennis, as well as table tennis, box, volleyball and swimming. In recent years, thanks to technological advances, Esports has also gained significant popularity. On Nigerian betting sites, customers can also start betting on sports that are traditional for former British colonies, like cricket and rugby.
Next, we will take a closer look at sports that are most common on top betting sites in Nigeria.
Football
Football is a national sport in Nigeria. Local clubs determine the national champion in the Nigeria Professional Football League (there are five divisions in the football pyramid), and the Nigeria national football team is one of the strongest on the continent.
The Nigerian team participated in six World Cups and reached the Round of 16 three times. Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations three times and the Olympic Games in 1996. Today, many Nigerian football players participate in major European championships. In the national team, it is especially worth mentioning Victor Osimhen from Italian S.S.C. Napoli and Kelechi Iheanacho from English Leicester City.
In Nigeria, online sports betting offers bets on major national football leagues, European cups, World Cups, Africa Cup of Nations, UEFA EURO, junior tournaments, women’s competitions and friendly matches. You can always find reviews of top football betting sites in Nigeria on a special page of Match.Center.
Basketball
The love to this sport is instilled in Nigerians from childhood; in many Nigerian schools, basketball training sessions are held for boys and girls.
In Nigeria, professional basketball is at a decent level. In the current rating of the FIBA national teams, the Nigeria basketball national team ranks 19th in the world and 1st among teams on the African continent. But, there is no particular success at the international level: the Nigeria national team won the AfroBasket only once (in 2015), the team participated in the world championships three times and never achieved significant results. They made their way to the Olympic Games only once.
There are 16 professional basketball clubs in the Nigerian Premier Basketball League, and the Rivers Hoopers team from Port Harcourt regularly represents the country in the most prestigious club tournament of the continent – the Basketball Africa League.
In Nigeria, betting companies accept bets on dozens of basketball tournaments from all over the world. In addition to the NBA, there are national championships of African, European, Asian, South American countries, as well as international tournaments for clubs and national teams.
Boxing
Nigerian boxing gained worldwide attention thanks to Dick Tiger, who became the absolute middleweight and light-heavyweight world champion in the 1960s. Nigerian amateur boxers also achieved big wins: in 1962, Karimu Young won the first African flyweight championship, two years later, he was the winner in the bantamweight category. In 1966, another two representatives of Nigeria, Eddie Ndukwu (up to 57 kg) and Fatai Ayinla-Adekunle (up to 81 kg) won the African championship. Later, Nigerian boxers became the winners of the All-Africa Games and the Commonwealth Games.
Nowadays, Nigerian online betting and boxing fans can bet on the world’s main boxing bouts held under the aegis of the major global organisations – WBA, WBC and IBF. Moreover, Nigerian bookmakers accept bets on boxing tournaments of the Olympic Games and other international boxing matches.
Table tennis
Nigerian athletes successfully perform in table tennis competitions and are considered the strongest in Africa. The Nigeria national team regularly participates in the World Table Tennis Championships; in the All-Africa Games, the team won competitions in the team event, as well as in singles and doubles.
Every day, betting companies operating in Nigeria offer a large selection of markets to bet on table tennis. On the pages of Nigerian online betting sites, you can place bets on dozens of tournaments from all over the world, starting with the international TT Elite Series and the TT Cup and ending with the African, European and Asian national cups and semi-amateur competitions.
Esports
Year by year, Esports only reinforce their popularity in Nigeria. Young Nigerians compete in CS:GO, Dota 2, League of Legends and other virtual games, and betting companies increasingly provide the opportunity to bet on virtual sports. As elsewhere in the world, Esports betting is more popular with the younger generation in Nigeria. For many Nigerian bettors, betting on virtual sports is the first online betting experience.
In 2022, Nigeria introduced their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. In October 2022, Team Nigeria performed in the IESF African Championship 2022 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. In the decisive match, the Nigerians were outperformed by the Algerian team.
How to Bet on Sports in Nigeria
It is pretty simple to place a bet in a Nigerian betting company. The bettor needs to follow only a few steps:
If your bet wins, the winning amount will be transferred to your account. You can withdraw it the same way that you deposited funds. Before paying out, the bookmaker can require a document for verification. Any document confirming the bettor’s identity will do.
Live Sports Betting at Nigerian Bookmakers
Live betting on sports and Esports is a bet the customer places amid the selected event. Such bets are offered by all Nigerian bookmakers; they are put in special sections. On betting sites, they can be called Live, Live Bet, Live Betting, Live Sport, Live Now or In Play. You can find everything about the best live betting sites in Nigeria on a separate page of Match.Center.
Despite the popularity of live betting in Nigerian betting companies, only few of them can provide a truly high quality service. We have something to compare: currently, many betting companies around the world try to create the most convenient conditions for In Play betting, offering live streaming, quick bet settlement, deposits and withdrawals from the account. Nigerian bookmakers still have room to grow. In particular, nowadays, only two bookmakers from our lists – 1xBet and Bet9ja – offer live streaming.
On the other hand, in Nigeria, lots of betting companies offer special features for comfortable betting in the Live mode. These include:
How can Nigerian Bettors Select the Best Betting Company
To simplify the search for a quality bookmaker, use the Match.Center site. We collect data on Nigerian bookmakers and compile ratings. Our lists are compiled by various criteria and in total give the complete picture of which betting companies are better than other ones and why.
Our experience shows that when selecting a bookmaker, first of all, bettors should pay attention to:
Payment methods in Nigeria
In Nigeria, most bookmakers offer bettors a wide range of payment systems for funds deposits and withdrawals. Some of them are widespread all over the world (Visa and Mastercard bank cards, cryptocurrencies, ecoPayz), others are well-known only to Nigerian bettors. Next, we will take a closer look at the most popular payment systems at bookmakers in Nigeria.
Paystack
It is a fintech company from Lagos that offers payment processing services for enterprises. In 2015, Paystack became the first Nigerian company accepted into the Y Combinator US venture fund, and in 2020, it was acquired by the Stripe Irish-US financial company for $200 million. Currently, over 70,000 companies cooperate with Paystack in the area of online and offline payments.
Interswitch/Quickteller
It is an online payment processing company founded in Lagos in 2002. Interswitch uses “switching” infrastructure to connect to various banks in Nigeria and provides the technology for ATM cards. The company’s network has more than 11,000 ATMs throughout the country. Interswitch owns the Quickteller online payment platform, which also allows you to deposit your account in many betting companies in Nigeria.
Flutterwave
It is a fintech company founded in Nigeria in 2016. The operator provides payment infrastructure for vendors and suppliers of payment systems. Flutterwave operates in 11 African countries: Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and others. In September 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria granted Flutterwave a special licence that allows processing transactions without mediators within one payment ecosystem. It includes the processing of money transfers between banks and fintech companies, as well as participation in agent, bank and other payment services.
Monnify
It is a popular payment system among Nigerian companies. The platform allows accepting payments from clients on a permanent and ad hoc basis. Monnify serves as a mediator in debit bank card transactions and interbank money transfers via USSD. According to the information presented on the payment operator’s site, Monnify offers the most competitive transaction fees.
OPay
It is a fintech company from Nigeria that offers mobile financial solutions together with offline banking. OPay is a set of services, with which you can deposit or withdraw cash from your account, send money online, pay for mobile communication, order a taxi or food, pay the bill in a betting company etc. Simultaneously, all services are avail