bge7mThe Nigerian sports betting industry has remained a vibrant business sphere since it came into inception years ago. Owing to the fact that dozens of Nigerians eagerly follow football and certain other sports, sports betting will likely remain a flourishing enterprise in Nigeria.
Moreover, Nigeria has a huge population of punters and with sports betting being a widely admired form of betting, sports betting companies in Nigeria are certain to continually rake in profit.
Sports betting shops can be found almost anywhere in Nigerian cities. With this signaling that sport betting is a thriving enterprise in Nigeria, you may want to tap into this enterprise.
This post is therefore a comprehensive guide that will walk you through how you can start a sports betting business and shop in Nigeria.
Steps for Starting a Sports Betting business in Nigeria
Find out about Your Preferred Sports Betting Company
Given that you’ve heard one or two things about the popular sports betting companies in Nigeria, it’s very predictable that you already have a particular company in mind.
Whether you already have a specific sports betting company in mind or not, it’s essential that you examine the various Nigerian sports betting companies before you eventually choose one.
Since you’ll operate as an agent for your chosen sports betting company, you really need to define your preferences and select the company that fits into such preferences. For example, you could be interested mostly in the percentage of commission that a sports betting company would pay you. In a different instance, assurance of instant payouts might be the thing that interests you most about a sports betting company.
Although you might want to go with a sports betting company that assists with the furnishing of a betting shop, the amount paid as commission is most likely what would first attract you to the company.
It’s very advisable that you run a background check on the most popular Nigerian sports betting companies before stamping your choice of betting company. You may as well seek recommendations from the existing agents of the popular sports betting companies in the country. From your rapport with such people, you’ll likely realize how profitable it is to serve as an agent for a particular sports betting company.
Obtain a Betting Franchise from the Company
Once you’ve stamped your choice of betting company, the next step in starting a sports betting shop in Nigeria is to obtain a franchise from the company. But before you can be deemed worthy of this franchise, you must have satisfied a number of prerequisites that the company is looking for.
If you want to be very sure of a particular betting company’s prerequisites, you may visit the company’s website and explore its “become an agent” tab. Exploring this tab, you should find out the company’s terms and conditions. Provided you’re satisfied with the terms and conditions spelt out by the company, you may proceed to applying as a prospective agent. Normally, you’d find the company’s application form after having scanned through the terms and conditions.
Sports betting companies usually have varying requirements/conditions that you must fulfill before they can approve your application. You’ll likely receive a reply (probably a call) from one of the staff members at the betting company you applied to. This staff member could be an account manager and he/she would guide you on the subsequent steps to take. Usually, the account manager will want to see if you fit into the company’s requirements and this, ultimately, becomes the basis for approving or rejecting your application.
As implied earlier, the requirements for the approval of applications tend to vary from one sports betting company to another. We’ll therefore advise you to look in the direction of another betting company if your application to a particular company gets rejected.
Establish a Strategic Location for the Betting Shop
This is one of the most critical aspects in starting a sports betting shop. Obviously, there’s emphasis on “strategic” because you don’t expect a betting shop to thrive in all areas irrespective of the kinds of people in those areas.
Frankly, a sports betting company is interested in the location of your betting shop as much as it is interested in your ability to run the shop. If you’ve identified an urbanized area with a great deal of young people, it’s highly believable that you have a strategic location for your betting shop. Also, you’ll have to locate the shop in an open spot from which people can notice its presence very easily.
Equip the Betting Shop
Sports betting companies want to be certain that you have both a strategic location and the required equipment for running a betting shop. It’s therefore advisable that you’ve already identified a strategic shop location and purchased the necessary equipment before applying for a betting company’s franchise.
Even if you’re yet to acquire the shop space, ensure you’ve identified the space and set aside the necessary equipment before attempting to obtain a franchise from a sports betting company.
As regards equipping a sports betting shop, the items you need are very basic. Irrespective of your preferred sports betting company, the items you’ll need for equipping your betting shop are as follows:
- Computers (You should have a decent number of desktop computers)
- Television sets (You should have two or more television sets. You may choose to have one TV set dedicated for displaying virtual sports matches and few other TV sets for the live broadcast of sports matches)
- A DSTV decoder (specifically in order to broadcast live football matches going down in popular European leagues)
- A generator set (Endeavour to have a very reliable and powerful generator that can comfortably power your choice of betting shop in the absence of PHCN power)
- A number of comfortable chairs for your employees (cashiers)
- Items of furniture (such as wooden benches) for customers to sit on
Hire Staff
Staff are the ones who will attend to customers (bettors) patronizing your betting shop. Therefore, you should be keen to employ friendly and responsive individuals. These individuals must be available to register customers’ betting choices as well as deal out bet slips to them.
In starting your betting shop business, you should never trivialize the aspect of staff hiring so that you don’t end up with crooked and unfriendly employees. This is because when selecting betting companies, Nigerian bettors not only consider the associated offers but also, they tend to favour the ones with friendly customer services across betting shops.
Market Your Betting Shop
When you’ve successfully registered with a sports betting company in Nigeria, you’re very likely to be provided with branding materials. You should note that such materials will be useful in marketing your betting shop. Do well to place the branding materials (such as banners) in spots where they can quickly draw people’s attention to your betting shop.
How Lucrative Is a Sports Betting Shop in Nigeria?
A sports betting shop guarantees high returns except if situated in the wrong place. Due to the myriads of people placing bets again and again, many unsuccessful bets will likely be recorded and bookies are certain to reel in profits. As bookies make profit, sports betting agents will also rake in due returns.
In Nigeria, one’s chances of making success with a sports betting shop is so high considering that gambling is allowed in the country and lots of Nigerians fancy the idea of placing bets on both virtual and real-life sports matches.
Provided you’re in a strategic location and have chosen a rewarding sports betting company, you definitely have a strong shot at making reasonable wealth from your betting shop in Nigeria.
How Much Money Do You Need to Set Up a Sports Betting Shop in Nigeria?
There is no fixed amount of money for setting up a sports betting shop in Nigeria. Notably, your startup capital can vary depending on the size and location of your shop space, and the amount of items required for adequately furnishing the shop.
Based on our estimation, you may spend as much as #500,000 if you’re keen to have a standard sports betting shop in Nigeria. Note that in this estimation, we factored in the costs of all the necessary items of equipment for furnishing the shop as well as the cost of the shop space.
Breakdown of How Sports Betting Companies Pay Their Agents
Depending on the sports betting company you’re tied to, your profit may depend on an agreed percentage of your sales. In another instance, your profit could be a percentage of the total proceeds from unsuccessful bets.
Generally, betting companies pay their agents certain commissions from the sales realized usually on a periodic basis. Merrybet (one of the popular sports betting companies in Nigeria) claims that it pays its agents as much as 50% commission from the sales made.
Bet9ja –Nigeria’s most popular sports betting company –pays its agents a 10% commission from weekly sales.
Also, a bet company may decide to determine an agent’s commission on the basis of the net profit realized. Mathematically, the net profit is calculated as the outcome of subtracting total sales and total winnings from each other. This net profit is usually calculated over a given period and the agent will be paid a fixed percentage of the difference between total winnings and total sales.
Conclusion
As much as you need adequate capital for the startup of your sports betting shop, you also need in-depth knowledge of how the sports betting agency works. Since owning a sport betting shop requires you to register as an agent with a particular sports betting company, we advise that you further consult an existing owner of a sports betting shop.
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