Underfire Sportybet Pointing Fingers at Anything and Anyone to Avoid Accountability

Sportybet has developed a curious habit of egregiously defaming its own customers voicing their displeasure at the series of dubious actions taken by the company in the last 2 years.   

When its customers called out the betting brand in 2024 for withholding their 900m in winnings, Sportybet released a press statement calling them international cybercriminals who somehow manipulated the odds. One of those customers was a pregnant woman from Agege who played bets in hopes of winning enough to secure better healthcare for her unborn baby. But to sportybet, she might have as well been the CIA. 

Refusing to back down in hopes of claiming their legitimate wins, the customers turned to social and legacy media to appeal to the government and anyone who could intervene. Not only did Sportybet refuse to pay, it then tried to gag them through the Nigerian courts- which threw out the case because Sportybetcouldn’t prove the customers had done anything wrong. 

Last week, Social media erupted again following more curious actions by Sportybet. And in fashion, instead of acknowledging its mistakes, Sportybet claimed it had done no wrong and the uproar was merely an “unwarranted media campaign” by a “professional organization sponsoring influencers”. And again, more than 2000 customers responded angrily with screenshots of their Sportybet accounts, denied winnings, voided wins, rollbacked wins and unfair practices which caused them significant wins. 

What is clear is that it is time for an investigation into sportybet. A company in a regulated industry worth over $3.6 billion cannot unilaterally decide to act as judge, jury and executioner onto itself. Choosing when to pay and when not to pay winnings. It is a duly licensed company operating under the Nigerian lottery rules and regulations and Nigerian consumer protection acts which demand that all customers are treated fairly and without manipulation or prejudice. Nigeria is Africa’s largest gambling market. And Sportybet cannot and should not be allowed to operate without accountability and oversight. 

Sportybet has repeatedly hidden behind the term “glitch’. But why do these “glitches” seemingly only happen when the customers have the edge and the house is in trouble? In February of 2026, the Uefa Champions League group stage final matchday saw Sportybet restrict access to betslips and cashoutfor all customers. This came after the opening 15 mins of kick-off when the favourites had scored tons of goals and it seemed users were in for a windfall. But since no users could even view their betslips or cash-out what would have been massive amounts, users were forced to watch in frustration as their wins slipped away. Remarkably, this “glitch” disappeared after the matches ended. This resulted in a class action lawsuit by irate customers who had simply had enough of the manipulation. These incidents happen a little too frequently under the exact same circumstances for it to be anything other than unfair practices to minimize risk. 

Today, there are over 50 customers who are demanding access to over 900m in winnings. Sportybet must be investigated to prove these customers did wrong as it claims or must compensate these users after 2 years of labelling them as anything but what they are: legitimate customers denied legitimate wins.