Welcome to the Best Betting Sites in Nigeria
Welcome to Betopin! We are a team of gambling experts that can help you out in your pursuit of the best gambling platforms on the web. Our team of professionals uses strict criteria when doing research, thus listing only the best of the best betting sites in the world. On our site, you can find the finest gambling platforms for many different regions of the world. The focal point of this article will be Nigeria.
Nigeria is a sport-loving nation, and where there are sports, there’s also sports betting. According to the NLRC (National Lottery Regulatory Commission), sports betting in Nigeria is legal, alongside a few other gambling games like the lottery and certain casino games. Therefore, there are plenty of options for sports punters in Nigeria. Local sites are full of various markets and exciting promotions, but many Nigerians also choose to play on offshore platforms.
In this article, we are going to share a list of the best betting sites in Nigeria. Apart from the list, you will also be able to read about our selection process, different types of markets you can explore, most popular features of Nigerian betting sites, deposit and withdrawal options you can use, and more. Keep reading!
Take a Look at Our Exclusive List of Best Betting Sites in Nigeria
The list you can see below includes the finest betting sites for Nigerian players. On these sites, you can explore an abundance of sports betting markets, use plenty of convenient features like in-play betting, watch live streams of the matches you bet on, and more. Most importantly, all the listed online sportsbooks are completely safe and legal for Nigerian players.
Enjoy!
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Things We Look for on Nigerian Betting Sites
What we want you to understand from the start is that we did not select these websites based just on their popularity. Instead, we checked each and every sports betting site available to Nigerian players and made sure that they are truly worth the trouble. We did so by following strict criteria, as we feel you deserve only the best betting experience on the web.
Read the following paragraphs to learn more about our selection process.
Bonuses and Promotions
Every betting site in Nigeria has some kind of a bonus for new players. However, bonuses and promotions are not always what they seem like. The size of the bonus alone does not necessarily correlate with its true value. There are all sorts of bonus terms and conditions you have to be familiar with, like wagering requirements, minimum deposits, maximum cashouts, the duration of the bonus, and more. Only when we take into consideration all of these terms can we determine whether that bonus is worthy of your time or not.
The betting sites you can find on our list offer truly valuable bonuses that will give you a chance to play and win some cash while playing for free. Additionally, we made sure that the sites listed here have more than one bonus. Apart from the welcome offer, these Nigerian sportsbooks are full of daily, weekly, and monthly promotions, together with VIP programmes that reward your loyalty.
Safety and Security
When you enter a given betting site, bonuses will draw your attention first. However, that can be a trick to diverge your attention from what’s really important. Many fraudulent online sportsbooks like to offer ridiculously big bonuses while having no intention of paying the players if they win. That’s why safety and security are the priority for us when we rank betting sites.
To make sure that a sportsbook is legit, we fist check its licensing details. Ideally, the website should be licensed by the official Nigerian gambling jurisdiction, which is, in this case, the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC). In the case of offshore websites that accept Nigerian players, the most trusted regulatory bodies include the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), Gibraltar, Curacao, and others. Each sportsbook site should clearly state their registration number and the expiration date of the licence.
Of course, the primary concern of players is whether their money and personal information will be safe on a given betting site. All the sites you can find on this page are equipped with modern encryption technology and firewalls that protect both you as a player and the website from malicious cyber attacks.
Game Variety
A variety of markets is very important when you’re selecting betting sites in Nigeria. The best betting platform should have dozens of different sports, from popular ones like football to less-known ones like curling. There should also be a few miscellaneous non-sport markets such as politics, TV shows, and various contests.
However, having a large number of markets does not make a site versatile. That’s why we also checked what each of the markets consists of. For example, a sports betting site can have 36 markets, but only 20,000 monthly events, while another site can offer only 25 markets with over 40,000 events. Ideally, you would want both the number of markets and the number of events to be high, but having more events is definitely more important.
We will talk more about sports betting markets a little later on. For now, you should know that each Nigerian betting site from our list has plenty of them and that all popular Nigerian sports are included.
Customer Support
New players are full of questions when they register on a betting site. Everything you need to do in order to place a wager should be easy and intuitive, but hitting a brick wall can happen even to the most experienced punters out there.
In such cases, the best thing to do is to contact the site’s customer support. Quality betting sites in Nigeria care about their customers by being there 24 hours a day. Multiple means of contact should be included as well, like live chat, email support, and a toll-free telephone number for players located in Nigeria.
We tested every website’s customer support to see how quickly they respond and whether they are able to answer some basic questions. Additionally, we checked how informative their FAQ pages are and whether the players can find the solutions to their problems there.
Banking
A given sportsbook site can have a wide selection of markets, rewarding bonuses, and friendly customer service, but that doesn’t mean a lot if you can’t deposit and withdraw money conveniently. Banking is often an overlooked part of betting sites, even though it’s one of the most important ones.
When reviewing betting sites in Nigeria, we took plenty of time to research the payment methods they accept. A quality site should offer several different ways of moving money to and from your account, including credit cards, prepaid cards, e-wallets, wire transfers, cryptocurrencies, and more. Also, it’s important that deposit and withdrawal limits are optimal and that the transactions don’t take a lot of time to complete.
We will expand on this subject a little later on, so keep reading!
User Interface
In order to have a pleasant betting experience, you would want to visit a sportsbook site that has easy navigation and works smoothly on all devices. A good betting website should allow you to place a bet in just a few clicks or taps. All the important links should be easily reachable and the crucial information about bonuses should be in plain sight.
Our list of the finest betting sites in Nigeria consists of operators that have modernly designed and mobile-friendly sites. There are no lags or bugs, as they continually work to improve user experience and make their platforms work faster.
Trustworthiness and Reliability
All operators we ranked highly have been in the business of online sports betting for many years. A fraudulent website would never last that long, so you can rest assured that these sites are as legit as they come.
Of course, a part of our selection process involved signing up on websites and testing their services, but we also checked what other players had to say about a given operator. We only gave positive reviews to sites that have few to none customer complaints and that the players have a high regard for.
Different Types of Markets on Nigerian Betting Sites
Remember when we talked about the importance of market variety? Well, this is where we will explain all different betting types you can utilise while creating your betting slip. More markets mean more freedom to choose what to bet on, and when it comes to betting sites in Nigeria, the options are plentiful.
- Money Line — This is the simplest and most popular bet that involves you choosing the team/player that’s going to win. The odds depend on how heavily one team/player is favoured to win.
- Point Spread — Point spread refers to a margin of victory. For example, if the points spread is 7.5 on Rivers Hoopers to beat Kano Pillars in the Nigerian basketball league, and you bet on the Hoopers, that means they must win by eight or more points. The odds on point spread bets are always around 1.90.
- Parlay — Parlay bets (also referred to as accumulators or accas) are multiple bets constructed on one betting slip. The odds of every individual bet are multiplied to give you the final odds of your slip. If only one of the matches doesn’t go your way, the entire bet loses, although some Nigerian sportsbooks will give you a cashback if your ticket fails by one.
- Outright — Outright bets are placed on an entire competition rather than a single game. For example, you can bet on Enyimba to win the NPFL before the season even begins. Since outright bets are the hardest to predict, the odds and rewards can be pretty high.
Most Popular Features on Nigerian Betting Sites
If you choose one of the Nigerian betting sites from our list, you will get to enjoy plenty of exciting and useful online betting features. Online sportsbooks can offer much more than just plain and simple wagering. Many of them allow you to wager while the match is taking place (live betting), watch the games you bet on (live streaming), play on the go (betting apps), and many other things.
In-Play Betting
In-play betting has been very popular in Nigeria in the last several years. Instead of placing pre-match wagers, you can bet while the game is live. For example, one of the most popular in-play bets is guessing the next goalscorer of a football match or guessing when the next goal is going to be scored. In-play betting options are very versatile and allow you to make a countless number of bets during a single game.
Live Streaming
Not all Nigerian betting sites have a live streaming option, but most of the good ones do. There’s nothing better than watching the game you wagered on; nowadays, even if you can’t find your game of interest on TV, you can simply watch it on a betting site.
To stream, you will usually need to place a minimum bet on that game. Of course, while watching the game, all the in-play betting options will be available, so you can change your bets at any time. The streams are usually in HD quality and can be viewed in full screen. Not all events are covered, although most major ones are.
News & Tips
Sports betting is about luck for the most part, but the most successful punters are those who make educated bets based on information they acquire about teams and players. Most modern Nigerian betting sites have Blog sections where you can read about the latest developments from the world of sports, like injury reports, team form, and various other stats. This will help you make an educated bet and increase your chances of winning. Many sites also have betting experts working for them who share tips about their projections and estimates.
E-Sports Betting
The e-sports boom is still going on and it has taken Nigeria by storm in the last couple of years. The world of gaming is as competitive as any physical sport, giving punters an opportunity to make a lot of money by betting on their favourite gamers or gaming teams.
If you know a thing or two about competitive games like League of Legends, CS:GO, Dota 2, or Fortnite, you will be happy to know that these e-sports competitions can be found on the majority of sports betting sites in Nigeria.
Online Casino
While casino games are usually offered on specialised casino sites, some Nigerian sportsbooks have a fair share of casino games as well. If you want to take a little break from sports betting, you can explore the Casino section on some of the sites we shared and play quality games like video slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker, craps, bingo, keno, and more.
These games come with their own set of bonuses and promotions. The best thing about online casinos is that they offer much higher potential rewards. Progressive games have jackpots that can be worth hundreds of millions of nairas.
Mobile & App
The majority of Nigerians own smartphones and tablets, and most of these devices are compatible with Nigerian betting sites. Betting on the go is really convenient, especially if you can’t make it home in time before the game starts.
All websites we listed have mobile-friendly platforms that are optimised for smaller screens. Moreover, some operators offer free downloadable apps for the latest iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. These apps are no different from desktop sites in terms of available markets and betting features, and some even have mobile-exclusive bonuses.
Best Sports for Your Wagering Needs in Nigeria
Nigerians love sports in general, but some sports are more popular than others in this African country. The number of available sports is what we look into with great care when reviewing Nigerian betting sites.
While every site offers dozens of sports you can bet on, here are the ones that will probably interest you the most:
- Football — Unsurprisingly, football is the most popular sport in Nigeria, just like almost everywhere else in the world. No betting site can exist without football, meaning you will be able to find many competitions in this market, spanning from the Champions League, English Premier League, and La Liga, to local Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL). Almost all football matches are available for in-play betting, and most big ones can be streamed live.
- Basketball — Nigeria is one of the most successful basketball nations on the African continent, so it comes as no surprise that this sport tickles the fancy of many Nigerian punters. Betting on the NBA is especially popular, but many people like betting on the Nigerian Premier League as well.
- Athletics (running) — Nigerians are traditionally good at athletics, as many of their athletes have successfully represented the nation at major events such as the Olympic Games. While athletics is not that popular among bettors in general, many Nigerian punters start getting interested when a big athletics event is about to take place.
- Boxing — Millions of dollars are wagered when a big boxing match is about to happen. Nigerians are not impervious to the boxing fever, especially considering that the nation produced some great boxers over the course of this sport’s history.
- Rugby — While they are not that successful on the international level, Nigerians love watching and betting on rugby. This sport doesn’t have a long history in Nigeria, but it goes well with the fighting and competitive spirit of the nation.
- Cricket — Cricket also enjoys a lot of popularity in Nigeria. The national team recently started competing in the T20 Internationals, which raised the interest of many punters.
Deposits and Withdrawals on Nigerian Betting Sites
The best Nigerian betting sites allow you to deposit and withdraw money using various methods of payment. The most popular ones are credit and debit cards. Apart from internationally used Visa and Mastercard cards, Nigerians can bet using African-focused Interswitch, too.
Online banking is usually done through GT Bank or PayCom, but Nigerians are no strangers to popular e-wallets like PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller. Offline deposits can be made at ATMs via Qickteller or through the operator’s land-based agent.
Some Nigerian sports betting sites started accepting bitcoin lately, but these are still rare. Of course, there’s always the good old wire transfer for those who feel more secure making payments through a bank.
The best Nigerian betting sites usually have all of these options, if not more. The processing times, fees, and minimum and maximum limits depend on the operator, as well as the method itself.
Naturally, we searched for betting sites that have optimal limits, short transaction times, and impose no service fees. However, we advise you to be careful when depositing money for the first time, as some payment methods are not compatible with certain sites’ welcome bonuses.
Different Types of Betting Sites in Nigeria
Nigeria has an entire spectrum of betting sites you can explore. We listed some of the best betting sites, but we feel like you should get familiar with all the different ones that are available to you.
Sportsbooks
The most common type of a betting site in Nigeria is a sportsbook. Here, you will find a wide range of sports to bet on and enjoy rewarding bonuses and promotions. Sportsbooks allow you to bet in all sorts of ways, whether it’s money line betting, point spread, parlay, outright, or other.
Betting Exchanges
Betting can be as competitive as any sport. Instead of wagering money through a sportsbook site, you can go to one of several betting exchange platforms and bet against other people. The best thing about betting exchanges is that they do not necessarily need to be about sports. Users can bet on various events, including current affairs, politics, and other stuff.
Spread Betting
Spread betting is another betting type that is typically associated with sports but can be applied to other fields, like finance, for example. People can use spread betting platforms to predict the movement in the prices of shares, indices, currencies, and more.
Online Casinos
Online casinos are like a twin brother of sports betting sites. Apart from sportsbooks, we also review casino operators for the Nigerian market, so feel free to take a look.
Conclusion
We’ve finally reached the end of our overview of the best betting sites in Nigeria. We hope that you enjoyed reading and that you learned something new today. Online betting in Nigeria is still developing, but there are plenty of high-quality betting sites where you can get good odds and rewarding bonuses. Instead of manually searching for those sites yourself, you can simply take a look at our list above and pick one of the many great online betting operators.
The sites we included in this article are safe and legal for all Nigerian players who are over the legal age limit, so you should not worry about getting in any trouble if you decide to make an account there. They will treat you fairly and you’ll have the best online betting experience.
Good luck!
FAQ
Is online betting in Nigeria legal?
While some forms of gambling are illegal in Nigeria, sports betting is legal and regulated by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC). However, LL players must be at least 18 years old if they want to place bets online.
Are Nigerian betting sites safe?
Not all Nigerian betting sites are safe, but the ones we listed in our article are all secure. These operators employ the latest cybersecurity measures so that they can keep your personal and financial information out of harm’s way. Also, betting services on these sites are tested by third-party auditors which ensure their fairness.
Are there any bonuses for Nigerian players?
Yes, all betting sites have bonuses that are available to players from Nigeria. First, you will be greeted with a welcome bonus for making an account and depositing some money, while you can later take advantage of many other promotions like cashback offers, free bets, enhanced odds, and more.
Can I win real money on Nigerian betting sites?
Yes, you can! To win real money, you just need to predict the outcome of a match or several matches. As long as your betting slip is a winning one, you can withdraw real money from the betting site.