The Association of Nigerian Bookmakers, the parent body of Sports Betting companies in Nigeria, will on Friday, June 17, stage their first sports betting stakeholders summit in Lagos.
The summit with the theme ‘Opportunities Meet Challenges’, is scheduled for Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, by 10 am, and will see the owners of some of the top sports betting companies in the country making presentations.
Speaking ahead of the summit, the Chairman of ANB and the owner of NairaBet.com, Akin Alabi, described the association as same as other associations like the Trade Union Association, Nigeria Computer Society, Nigeria Bar Association and others like that.
“The body was set up to protect the interest of the industry and also to groom the industry,” he said.
“We want sports betting to thrive in Nigeria, both for the operators, the regulators, the security agencies, the people, the agents and everyone concerned.
“We decided to come together and have discussions on how to move the industry forward hence the need for the event.”
He further revealed that same as any association, they want to showcase their existence to the world, while also stating that the association still remains a voluntary organisation not yet backed by any legislation, but there are plans to approach the National Assembly to institutionalise the body.
“These are some of the things we are going to discuss during the meeting. That is why we have invited the DG of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Mr. Adolphus Ekpe, for the meeting” Alabi said.
“We have no doubt that there are huge opportunities in sports betting for everybody, but it has come with a lot of challenges, regulatory problems, security problems, financial problems and so many others, we need to find a way around it.
“We expect all operators to come, the public who are part of the industry like the agents, consultants and others who want to know more about the industry because sports betting has become a major sector of the country economy. Registration is currently open to the public on anb.ng with limited seats available”.
Apart from some CEO’s of sports betting outfits like Nairabet, Surebet, 1960bet, Merrybet, Bet9ja, Golden Race, etc, some other keynote speakers expected are: Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila, CEO, Lagos State Lottery Board; CSP Abayomi Shogunle, Officer-in-Charge Complaint Response Unit, FAQ, Abuja; Mr. Ola Faro, Senior Associate of Chief Afe Babalola (SAN).
