- Kazeem Badmus
Founded in September 2013 by Kunle Soname, and Ayo Ojuroye, Bet9ja website has quickly become a popular choice for sports betting enthusiasts most especially youths due to its competitive odds and abundance of matches in line with markets for both international and local events.
The site is licensed by the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority, the State Lottery Council of Lagos, and Osun State, ensuring it is a legal bookmaker in numerous Nigerian states.
Bet9ja has become a common choice for sports betting enthusiasts in Nigeria and hardly will you walk 10km in the Urban and semi-urban areas of the country without sighting a Bet9ja shop.
People besieged Bet9ja shops as early as 8:00 a.m. to stake games and play virtual. Some have become so addicted to it that their first point of call before their daily work is a Bet9ja shop.
The site, owned and operated by KC Gaming Networks Limited, a reputable company in the gaming industry has a key advantage over the other sporting sites which makes it more popular among Nigerians.
One of the advantages is its user-friendly interface and reliable payment options. It is very easy to navigate the site and payment on it comes as smooth as you get.
Also, Bet9ja has a wide range of selection of sports betting options offered to bettors, including soccer, basketball, tennis, and more. Additionally, the site delivers a range of virtual sports which includes, football or dog racing, and casino games to enhance the user experience further and win within minutes.
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When walking in the street, when you are at the bus stop, when at work, and most especially at football viewing centres, words like ‘straight winning’, ‘goal goal’, ‘over 1.5’, ‘1x’, ‘2x’, ‘over and under’ ‘either half’, ‘cash out’, are the order of the day as punters discussed their stake and stay glue to their phones to get updated on the football scores.
Another thing that most Bet9ja shop owners introduced to up their game and make it more popular is the free showing of football matches.
Many people watch matches freely in Bet9ja shops and in the process, attach themselves to betting. For existing bettors, as they are watching the football matches free of charge, they keep staking, especially on virtual while the intending bettors are introduced to it and fall in love.
Asked why he prefers Bet9ja to other betting sites, a bettor who simply identified himself as Figo, told Osun Defender that the site apart from being easy to navigate, offers a series of options that makes it easier for bettors to win.
According to him, “I don’t think I can book games on another betting site apart from Bet9a. I tried it sometime when Bet9ja was down and I couldn’t bet on it but I quickly switched back immediately Bet9ja resumes operation.
“The difference is too glaring. Bet9ja have a lot of options to choose from and it makes it easier for us to win. Also, betting on Bet9ja is cool because of the way the site is. A first-timer will easily bet on the site without needing help.”
Another unique thing about Bet9ja is the bonus aspect. While new punters get 100% rewards for their first deposit up to N100,000, for existing players, there’s a 50% reload bonus up to 50,000 NGN on the next deposit. And then there’s the accumulator bonus, where players can earn up to a 100% bonus on their accumulator bets, based on the number of selections in their bet slip.
A Bet9ja shop owner around Ota Efun area, Osogbo, told the medium he makes between 100,000 to N150,000 a month after paying his staff.
The owner who does not want his name in print said Bet9a serves as another source of income for the youths, adding that armed robbery and internet scamming would have been on the rise more than the country is witnessing without it.
“A lot of people see betting as another source of income and I can boldly say that if there were no Bet9ja and other betting sites, we would have more armed robbers and yahoo guys on the street.
“A lot of young people comes to my shop to play games and interacting with them shows that without an option like Bet9ja, they might have joined a bad gang,” the shop owner said.
Yusuf Oketola is a trained journalist with over five years of experience in the media industry. He has worked for both print and online medium. He is a thorough-bred professional with an eye of hindsight on issues bothering on social justice, purposeful leadership, and a society where the leaders charge and work for the prosperity of the people.