Top 10 Nigeria Gambling Statistics

Wondering about the state of the gambling industry in Nigeria? No need to look further.

Betensured has gathered, edited, and classified a list of current statistics below.

Make your way through our list, to keep reading for Gambling Statistics.

• Gamblers statistics
• Age statistics
• Highest gambling area
• Gender statistics
• Country statistics
• Revenue statistics
• Sports statistics
• Online gambling statistics
• Bookmakers statistics
• Reasons people gamble statistics

NOTE

This article samples gambling in Nigeria, while backing up with statistics and known facts, the factors that are known to influence it.

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Top 10 Nigeria gambling statistics

These are the general gambling statistics we think you should know about the gambling industry in Nigeria.

1. 60 million Nigerians between the ages of 18-40 are actively involved in sports betting. 

These 60 million Nigerians who reportedly gamble, spend close to N3,000 daily on bets.

77 percent of betting Nigerians attest to a high prevalence of betting and gambling in their areas. 92% of these people are from the South-West geopolitical zone, while 91 percent are from the South-South.

Northwest Zone has the lowest prevalence of gambling with only 57 percent of gamblers emerging from this region.

36 percent of gamblers admit to personally engaging in or having family members who bet. 53 percent bet daily, 60 percent said they bet a few times a month, 8 percent said they’ve never won a bet.

30 percent of people who took a poll on gambling, said that Nigerians bet because of their quest for quick money, 21 percent say it is due to the high rate of unemployment, 15 percent say it is because of greed.

(NOI Poll)

2. People aged 18-40 (79%) accounted for the highest proportion of Nigerian gamblers 

2 percent of school-aged children have gambled at least once in their life, 77 percent have gambled in the past year, and 38.3 percent of this age bracket reported having unrestricted access to gambling. (NOI Poll)

In 2021 the age group that gambled the most were between the ages of 25-31, making up 33.69 percent of bettors. This showed that online betting is more prominent amongst people in their early twenties and thirties. (Betensured)

3. Lagos houses the largest casino in the country, and numerous betting platforms. 

1960Bet company has more than 5,000 shops in Nigeria alone, and they reported that up to 300 bettors visit their Lagos establishments daily when top European leagues are active and 150 people wager daily during off season. (The Nation Newspaper)

Lagos is the largest gambling city in the country, it has 1 large gambling facility, 10 table games, as well as 106 game slots,  and video poker machines. (Bettingsites24)

4. 97.20% men gamble more than women and only 2.67% women bet. 

A survey in 2021 taken by Betensured, revealed that men bet more than women due to the fact that men are usually more passionate about sports and generally more likely to take risks betting on sports. In 2019, more men bet more than women and did so again in 2021. (Betensured)

Although men gamble on sports more than women, female gambling participation has grown over time. 10.3% of Nigerian internet bettors are females and their participation grows gradually annually. (The Nation Newspaper)

5. In 2021, Nigeria had the highest number of bettors out of 5 African countries surveyed. 

A survey taken by Betensured in 2021 showed that Nigeria had the highest number of bettors out of 5 African countries. 423,57.48%  Nigerian bettors were recorded out of 749 people from other African countries and America combined who took our survey. 

This number is so, because Nigerians are passionate sports lovers who have good betting sites willing to reward their passion for gambling with the best odds, promos, betting strategies, and easy cash out options. (Betensured)

In 2020, South Africa was the largest betting African country, with more than 80% of the continent’s gambling belonging to it. Kenya came second, Nigeria third, followed by Uganda, Tanzania, Morocco, Botswana, then Ghana. (Mountain West Wire)

6. Nigeria’s sports industry is estimated to be worth around $730billion. 

Bettors generally spend close to $2b on sports betting daily in Nigeria.

Each bettor is estimated to spend N3,000 daily betting on some form of sports.

Despite there being only 3 licensed casinos in Nigeria in 2020, the casino gambling industry pulled in around $70million. (Bettingsites24)

A market research taken in 2018, revealed that Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa shared a combined sports betting market of about $40 billion. (The Nation Newspaper)

On an average, people place a bet once every day of the week, which is why the betting industry makes a lot of money. (Betensured)

7. Up to 70% of sports betting trade is estimated to come from football trading. (Bettingsites24)

Nigerians are sports lovers and they love football more. 70% of Nigerian males are fanatic about this sport and the majority of their gambling activity is on football matches. (The Nation Newspaper)

Most Nigerians prefer to gamble on matches from top European leagues like the English Premiership and the Spanish La Liga. (The Nation Newspaper)

The favorite football market for Nigerian bettors according to 35.51% people, 266 bettors is a straight win. (Betensured)

In 2021, 487 of bettors 66.02%, surveyed said that the English Premier League is their favorite league to bet on. (Betensured)

8. 66.7% of bettors accept that mobile phones are their most preferred medium of gambling, because it is more convenient for placing bets and easily accessible. (Betensured)

Over 47%, 85 million Nigerians currently access the internet through their mobile phones, a number which is expected to grow by 64% in 2025. These numbers contribute significantly to the growth of online gambling in the country. (Nigerian Tribune)

Sports betting and online casinos are increasingly becoming more prominent among gambling entertainment and has grown in the market over the years by 7%. (Nigerian Tribune)

14 million bet stakes and payments are made daily over the internet. Meanwhile about 1200 offline visitors a month visit offline betting stores.(Bettingsites24)

Nigeria bets more than Kenya, Uganda, and Ghana. The country also has the highest number of online bettors recorded for the year 2019 and 2021. (Betensured)

9. 26% of active bettors say timely payment is the main factor that influences their choice of betting platforms. (NOI Poll)

24% say it’s the odds / stake placed on a game. 21% say it is reputation for payment and 15% say it is ease of usage.

There are over 40 betting sites and bookmakers in Nigeria that offer odds on various kinds of sporting events. (Business Post Nigeria)

In 2021, 242 of bettors  34.33%, when asked how many bookmakers they use, admitted to using two betting websites for betting on sports. In 2019, 37.3% of gamblers asked said they use one bookmaker. (Betensured)

Bet9ja is generally ranked as the second most visited website in Nigeria and the number one most visited online betting platform. (Bettingsites24)

In 2016, a report revealed that Bet9ja, which was the leading sports betting company, made an average monthly turnover of $10m, while NairaBet made an average turnover of $3m-$5m, a 20-30% margin on profit. (Nairametrics)

When choosing a bookmaker, quality of site and the choice of games are two important factors people consider. (Betensured)

10. 30% of Nigerians gamble because they want quick money. (NOI Poll).

An analysis by NOI Poll in 2019 done on gamblers revealed that 30 percent of them gamble because they want quick money. Although that number has grown over the years, that reason still hasn’t changed much. 

21% of the same group put down unemployment as a reason, and 15% said greed, 12% said economic hardship, 10% gambled due to poverty, 5% gambled for fun, 5% passion for sports, and 2% peer group pressure.

Nigeria has at least 7.96% of unemployed people, which is why 21% of gamblers attested to it being the reason why they gamble on casino activities. (Nigerian Tribune)

In 2019, people gambled the most because of money and in 2021 that same pattern was repeated. (Betensured)

84.7 of people gamble to make more money (Betensured)

Nigeria’s internet usage reaching up to 50%, combined with the drop in PC and mobile phone prices, and more Nigerians gaining access to online betting and gambling is another reason why gambling is prevalent in the country. (The Guardian)

Most Nigerians see gambling as a harmless leisure activity which is why 36% of adults have gambled and 53% of them gambled daily. (NCBI)

Nigerians are passionate about sports, especially football. And they see gambling on their team as a way of showing support and back up this support with money. (The Guardian Newspaper)

Final Thoughts

The Nigeria gambling industry is a changing one, with the potential to evolve and grow big in the coming years. 

Interested in more gambling statistics? Check this article on Survey: State of Online Betting in Nigeria 2021  we have on a similar survey.