It is no longer news that sports betting has become massive business in Nigeria. According to a 2014 report, Nigerians spend 1.8 billion Naira on Sports betting every day. A more recent research places that figure at 5 billion Naira.
With a youthful population of about 190 million, most of them crazy about football and crazy about rising above the economic hardship, it’s no wonder Betting Companies are flooding into the country.
Most of these new betting companies however continue to languish in the shadows of the more established companies for one basic reason; their services are largely restricted to online and most Nigerian gamers prefer the betting shops.
So why do average Nigerian youths still prefer game houses despite the possibility of using efficient online systems?
Lack of Basic Internet skills
Many youths are simply not internet savvy. Thus they find the whole registration process tedious and funding of account cumbersome if not impossible.
Then there is the hassle of transferring winnings back into bank accounts and going to banks to withdraw. Staking at betting houses simplifies everything for them.
Money, money, money…
The other important factor is economic. Many youths are simply broke and don’t have funded bank accounts to withdraw from, talk more
Free Permutations
Then, bet shops have become a melting pot for permutations, predictions and ultimately, for forecasting games. While there are a lot of folks on social media offering the same service, many of them come with costs.
This is also coupled with the fact that many consider it better to meet people they trust and can hold responsible when the predictions fail. This is one key reason Betting Houses are choice destinations.
Data
In addition, Bet Shops offer other betting options that are not readily available online. These include virtual soccer and dog race.
Even when these options are available to peeps online, the process and data required to indulge in them are often a source of distress. Why not allow someone else
Bank Charges
Most people see betting as a get rich quick scheme where they can make a possible profit of 1 million Naira with 100 Naira investment.
Depositing 100 Naira into an online account might attract as much fee as depositing more. Moreover, you will have to queue at the bank premise or ask someone to do transfer services at a cost. All these are prices average better don’t want to pay.
By the way, how many times will you have to go to the bank in a day? An average person bets twice daily (mornings and evenings). So, why spend so much when it is easier to be penny wise in a betting shop?
Minimum Withdrawals
Many popular online betting platforms have minimum withdrawals which means one can’t withdraw unless they hit a certain sum. Betting houses have no such restrictions.
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Meanwhile, bonanzas like the one below are more reasons to hit Bet shops. You hardly get such prizes sitting at home pressing your phone.
In conclusion, several factors keep driving the average Nigerian to the betting shops. Most of these factors are the bane of online businesses in Nigeria. Somehow, the system must make it more profitable to offline transactions if we will ever grow the e-business space.
Most of those factors aren’t going away anytime soon and as long as they don’t, the betting shops won’t.
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