Nigeria’s Online Gambling Market Hits ₦5.6 Trillion Amid Surge in Mobile Betting
Nigeria’s online gambling sector has experienced unprecedented growth, reaching an estimated ₦5.6 trillion (€3.3 billion) in 2025. The boom reflects the rapid adoption of mobile betting apps, online casinos, and sports wagering platforms, making digital gambling accessible to millions of Nigerians nationwide.
Smartphones and mobile payment services have removed traditional barriers, allowing Nigerians to participate in online gambling with unprecedented ease. Sports betting, particularly football, continues to dominate the market, reflecting the nation’s passion for the game and a broader appetite for high-risk, fast-return activities. According to recent data from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria, over 60 million Nigerians place bets daily, spending an estimated $5.5 million each day on online gambling platforms.
At the heart of this growth is the everyday Nigerian, particularly those between 18 and 35. This demographic faces some of the toughest economic pressures in the country, including high unemployment, rising living costs and limited upward mobility. Against such uncertainty, gambling often appears, rightly or wrongly, as a quick escape or a potential supplement to shrinking incomes, though experts caution that it also brings risks, including debt, compulsive behaviour, and social strain.
The rapid rise of online gambling has triggered growing concern among policymakers. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have pointed out that daily betting activity now far exceeds participation in Nigeria’s formal capital markets, where fewer than three million adults actively invest. This shift toward short-term, high-risk speculation rather than long-term investment is seen as contributing to Nigeria’s persistent $150 billion infrastructure shortfall.
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Despite its economic significance, Nigeria’s online gambling industry continues to operate amid regulatory uncertainty. Following the Supreme Court ruling in November 2024, oversight of gaming was shifted to the states, limiting the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The Nigerian Senate recently passed the Central Gaming Bill 2025, which now awaits presidential assent, after clearing its third reading in the upper chamber. The legislation is designed to repeal the National Lottery Act and establish a National Gaming Commission to provide a unified regulatory framework for online and remote gambling, with the aim of standardising licensing, taxation, compliance and player protections across the country.
Proponents argue the bill modernises Nigeria’s gaming laws to better reflect the rapid growth of digital betting and to improve revenue collection and oversight. However, it has sparked significant opposition from state governments and gaming regulators, who contend that it exceeds constitutional limits and encroaches on powers affirmed for state authorities by a 2024 Supreme Court ruling. Critics describe the bill as overreaching and potentially unconstitutional, arguing that expanding federal authority into state‑regulated gaming matters undermines the existing legal framework.
