Football betting has done a good job at replacing the old system
of 'perming', a slang word for pool playing. Almost every corner of
the major towns, cities and streets in Nigeria has a branch of one
betting centre or the other(they are many centres now). Make efforts
to look in, and you will see that these betting centres are crowded in
with Nigerian youths.
Regardless of the fact that the nation is going through a hard
time and almost 70 percent of families, survive on less than $1 per
day. Yet the revenue of these betting company has not dropped, as
youths keep on flocking into betting centres everyday, hoping that day
will change their fortunes. With all the hardship and scarcity of
money, one would have expected to see a sharp fall in the population
of people 'booking', 'knacking' and staking bets. But the opposite is
actually the case, as the betting industry is the only industry that
is not retrenching workers!
In most betting centres, the minimum you need to book a bet is
N100, forget the fact that the value of naira is quite low, and that
there are a few things that amount of money can buy. But then an added
N50 to that sum can buy half a plate of solid food. N100 on its own in
this season of roasted corn, can buy two at N50 each. N100 can
comfortably buy a 35cl bottle of soft drink and buscuits. Right now,
as I write this, N100 note can get four cups of garri which will serve
two people for a single meal.
Yet, there are still many who spend more than this amount on
betting. People print as many as 3,4,5,6 betting slips at a go at N200
each. Hoping to win atleast one game, at the end losing all tickets.
And we are talking about over N1000 gone down the drain. And then the
next day, the same people hit the betting center hoping to recover the
money they've lost. You can guess... the same thing repeats itself
all over again.
I remember a statement I read three years ago, the statement
revealed that the betting sector churns out about N3 billion per year.
And I'm so sure that figure has increased since then, and will double
this year, whether naira fall or dollar rise.
Even after all the major leagues have ended, the streaming still
continues on other minor leagues in other countries. And even when
there are no games to stake on, there is this fabricated league called
'virtual league' that the betting sites promote so much. It is
entirely virtual and plays out with graphically created characters and
a programmed system, that creates and manipulates scores and league
tables simulating real football. It's just like a casino or roulette,
but its just an imitation of what happens in real sports.
This type of betting is very risky and worse than betting on real
and scheduled football games, but its becoming increasingly popular,
and in many cases has rendered the lives of some youths useless. Some
individuals even go robbing or pick pocketing so they can participate
in it.
A visit to a betting center that offers this service of virtual
league, on observation one would notice the psychological stress in
individuals. The stress actually affects their behaviour without their
knowing it. Some after they've lost so much money start
misbehaving,fighting and yelling incorrigible words. And many of them
are so unconscious of the fact that they are incurably addicted to
betting.
The Euro 2016 is on, and nothing less N50 million (unrefundable)
will be leaving the pockets of Nigerians before the end of the
tournament.
of 'perming', a slang word for pool playing. Almost every corner of
the major towns, cities and streets in Nigeria has a branch of one
betting centre or the other(they are many centres now). Make efforts
to look in, and you will see that these betting centres are crowded in
with Nigerian youths.
Regardless of the fact that the nation is going through a hard
time and almost 70 percent of families, survive on less than $1 per
day. Yet the revenue of these betting company has not dropped, as
youths keep on flocking into betting centres everyday, hoping that day
will change their fortunes. With all the hardship and scarcity of
money, one would have expected to see a sharp fall in the population
of people 'booking', 'knacking' and staking bets. But the opposite is
actually the case, as the betting industry is the only industry that
is not retrenching workers!
In most betting centres, the minimum you need to book a bet is
N100, forget the fact that the value of naira is quite low, and that
there are a few things that amount of money can buy. But then an added
N50 to that sum can buy half a plate of solid food. N100 on its own in
this season of roasted corn, can buy two at N50 each. N100 can
comfortably buy a 35cl bottle of soft drink and buscuits. Right now,
as I write this, N100 note can get four cups of garri which will serve
two people for a single meal.
Yet, there are still many who spend more than this amount on
betting. People print as many as 3,4,5,6 betting slips at a go at N200
each. Hoping to win atleast one game, at the end losing all tickets.
And we are talking about over N1000 gone down the drain. And then the
next day, the same people hit the betting center hoping to recover the
money they've lost. You can guess... the same thing repeats itself
all over again.
I remember a statement I read three years ago, the statement
revealed that the betting sector churns out about N3 billion per year.
And I'm so sure that figure has increased since then, and will double
this year, whether naira fall or dollar rise.
Even after all the major leagues have ended, the streaming still
continues on other minor leagues in other countries. And even when
there are no games to stake on, there is this fabricated league called
'virtual league' that the betting sites promote so much. It is
entirely virtual and plays out with graphically created characters and
a programmed system, that creates and manipulates scores and league
tables simulating real football. It's just like a casino or roulette,
but its just an imitation of what happens in real sports.
This type of betting is very risky and worse than betting on real
and scheduled football games, but its becoming increasingly popular,
and in many cases has rendered the lives of some youths useless. Some
individuals even go robbing or pick pocketing so they can participate
in it.
A visit to a betting center that offers this service of virtual
league, on observation one would notice the psychological stress in
individuals. The stress actually affects their behaviour without their
knowing it. Some after they've lost so much money start
misbehaving,fighting and yelling incorrigible words. And many of them
are so unconscious of the fact that they are incurably addicted to
betting.
The Euro 2016 is on, and nothing less N50 million (unrefundable)
will be leaving the pockets of Nigerians before the end of the
tournament.
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