About 4 In 10 Nigerians Engage inGambling in The Country

Abuja, Nigeria. September 16th, 2019– Nigeria is one of many countries that isbeing inundated with sports betting. The Nigerian sports betting (online andoffline) and gaming industry has grown geometrically in the past few years.This remarkable growth can be attributed to the country’s population andincreased access to the internet via enabled internet devices such as mobilephones, tablets, laptop, desktops etc.

According to statistics, about 60 million Nigeriansbetween the ages of 18 and 40 are involved in active sports betting.[1]On average, these punters spend roughly ₦3,000 Naira every day on bets.[2]For instance, data report from Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) in 2016revealed that a leading sports betting company in Nigeria makes an average monthlyturnover of $10 million dollars.[3]Sport betting shops can now be spotted in almost every street in Lagos and newones are popping up daily. Gambling in Nigeria is regulated by the NationalLottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) and it is worthy to note that all forms ofgambling are restricted from all residents of Nigeria below 18 years.

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Given thisbackground and the commencement of the 2019/2020 football season especially inEurope, NOIPolls presents findings from its past poll on gambling. The poll,which was conducted in the week commencing July 17^th, 2017, assessedthe opinions of Nigerians regarding the prevalence, knowledge and possible reasonssome Nigerians engage in gambling. The finding revealed that most Nigeriansbelieve that gambling is becoming very popular in the country, particularlyamongst the country’s bulging youth population and sports fans.

A significantproportion of Nigerians polled (77 percent) attested to the high prevalence ofbetting and gambling in their locality; particularly amongst respondents in theSouth-West (92 percent) and South-South (91 percent) geo-political zones whichrecorded the highest prevalence. Similarly, gambling has become a growing trendamongst young Nigerians aged between 18 – 35 years, who accounted for thehighest proportion of Nigerians who engage in the practice. According to areport by News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), about 60 million Nigerians between theages 18 and 40 years spend up to N1.8 billion Naira on sports betting dailywith an average investment of N3,000 Naira per day.[4]

Furthermore, interms of active participation, 36 percent of those polled admitted that theypersonally engage or have family members who engage in betting; with more thanhalf of this group of respondents (53 percent) engaged in daily betting. On theother hand, 60 percent of this same group reported that they win a bet ‘fewtimes a month’, while 8 percent revealed that they have ‘never won a bet’. Inaddition, the poll highlighted that people prefer betting platforms that offertimely redemption of winnings, favourable odds on games, reputation for promptpayment and are easy to use. Finally, respondents identified reasons whyNigerians engage in betting and gambling to include: ‘quest for quick money’(30 percent), ‘high rate of unemployment’ (21 percent) and ‘greed’ (15 percent)amongst other reasons.

Analysis acrossgeopolitical zones shows that the South-West zone recorded the highestprevalence (92 percent) while the North-East zone had the lowest prevalence (58percent). Betting has become a growing trend among youths in the country as thefindings also revealed that those aged 18 – 35 years accounted for the highestproportion of Nigerians who engage in it.

The chart belowshowed that a largemajority (77 percent) stated that gambling is prevalent in Nigeria. Residentsfrom the South-West zone (92 percent) had the highest prevalence, while theNorth-west zone (57 percent) recorded the lowest prevalence. Interestingly,analysis by age-groups shows that those aged between 18 – 35 years recorded thehighest percentage (79 percent) of respondents who stated that betting inNigeria is prevalent.

The poll also soughtto measure the proportion of Nigerians who are involved in betting; andanalysis revealed that nearly 4 in 10 Nigerians (36 Percent) actually engage insome form of betting and those aged between 18 – 35 years accounted for the largestproportion (41 percent) of Nigerians in this category. This finding is in linewith the report from News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) which stated that Nigeriansaged (18-40) years are most likely involved in betting[5].On the contrary, a larger proportion of the respondents disclosed that they donot engage in or have a family member who engages in betting. It is worthy tonote that some of these respondents may outrightly refuse to disclose their participationdue to societal stigmatization.

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Thesurvey sought to determine the frequency of Nigerians who actually engage in bettingand analysis revealed that more than half of the respondents (53 Percent)disclosed that they bet or stake games on ‘daily’basis. While 39 percent engage in it ‘a few times a month’, a meagre onepercent say they rarely engage in it.

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In the same vein, afurther probe established that majority (60 percent) of the respondentsdisclosed that they only win ‘a few times a month’, this is followed by 29percent who win ‘a few times in a week’. While 8 percent claimed that they have‘never’ won any bet, 3 percent indicated that they win ‘daily’.

In order toascertain the factors that influence the choice of betting platforms adopted bythe betting population, findings reveal that 26 percent mentioned ‘timely payment’ as the main factor thatinfluences their choice. This was closely followed by respondents who believeit is the ‘odds/stake placed on a game’(24 percent). Other determinants mentioned include ‘reputation for payment’ (21 percent), ‘ease of use’ (15 percent) among others.

Finally,analysis of results revealed ‘quest forquick money’ (30 percent), ‘Unemployment’(21 percent) and ‘greed’ (15 percent)topped the list of reasons why Nigerians engage in betting. Other reasons include;‘to cushion the effect of economic hardship’ (12 percent), ‘poverty’ (10 percent), ‘justfor fun’ (5 percent), ‘passion forsports’ (5 percent) and ‘peer groupinfluence’ (2 Percent).

In conclusion, thispoll findings have revealed the rising trend of gambling in Nigeria, especiallyamong the country’s bulging youth population. Sadly, according to the respondents,this trend is driven by the quest for quick money, unemployment, greed andeconomic hardship amongst others.

However, ourconcern is that while gambling may serve as an avenue to pool surplus fundsfrom the economy for savings and investment purposes, the side effects of thispractice on the population, especially youths may have a negative multiplier effecton the country. Gambling has been found to be quite addictive and can stimulatefurther social vices if not properly managed. It has ruined homes, marriagesand rendered people bankrupt; hence there’s need for proper sensitization on thenegative effects of gambling. Finally, it is important for regulatory bodiessuch as the National Lottery Commission to step up its regulatory efforts to ensurethat the practice is not abused and exposed to young people, especiallyteenagers.

Disclaimer

This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provideinformation on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindlynote that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the generalpublic, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever andwherever our poll results are used, cited or published.

NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this documentaccurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and backgroundinformation is based on information from various sources that it believes arereliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete.Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, noresponsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any viewsexpressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of informationprovided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or viewsherein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date ofthis document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’current findings and/or thinking.

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[5] http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/nigerians-spend-n1-8bn-sports-betting-daily-investigation/

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About 4 In 10 Nigerians Engage in Gambling in The Country