Nigerian entrepreneur and business leader, Tayo Oyedeji, believes that many sport betting companies in Nigeria and elsewhere are enriching themselves at the expense of their mostly impoverished customers.

According to Oyedeji, companies like SportsPesa, Betway, Nairabet, and Bet9ja, etc, harvest millions of naira by encouraging people to predict the future which is impossible.

He then went further to argue that it is better to invest one’s money instead of placing it all in a bet. According to him, it is unreasonable for anybody to have the mindset that sports betting equates investment.

You can see Mr Oyedeji’s Twitter thread below:

The owners of SportsPesa, Betway, Ladbrokes, Nairabet, Bet9ja, BetKing etc make millions by selling poor people a pipe dream.
They harvest millions from sport fans who think they can predict the future. Nobody can. 
Did you think Spurs would win at Ajax?Invest, don’t bet.

It takes a special level of financial naivety to think that sports betting is a form of investment. It’s NOT. You will eventually lose your capital and continue “investing” in a bid to break even.

They make the million; you lose your shirt.
Don’t do it.

This sports betting nonsense is all over England; it’s on every billboard in Kenya; it’s big in South Africa; it’s everywhere in Nigeria too.

It targets the poor and keeps them poor while a bunch of billionaires harvests capital from the ghetto. Please don’t fall for it.

Save your money in a high yield savings account. Invest it in a money market fund once it’s big enough for the minimum investment threshold. You can invest in Stanbic Bank mutual fund with N5000 or Equity Bank with Ksh 1000 or FNB with R1000. 

Don’t bet your life away. Invest.

I wrote this thread because a significant percentage of the men at the Village Fire seminar in Nairobi mentioned sport betting as one of their investment vehicles.

Please note: it’s not an investment. It’s gambling. You will eventually lose everything.

Nairabet’s Founder’s swift response: Meanwhile, Mr Oyedeji’s perspective was not taken likely by Akin Alabi, the entrepreneur and politician who established Nairabet. In a brief tweet, Alabi told Oyedeji that sports betting is a form of entertainment and not a form of investment. He went further to accuse Oyedeji of merely seeking attention with his thread.

7 COMMENTS

  1. Where they fored to bet. It is greed that is making them throw away the little they have. Stop blaming the spot betting company they are in business like every other businessman

  2. Mr oyedeji is very rite. This people make a lots of money from d poor becos they are ignorant of it. U can’t get it rite at all. Liv to beat Barca ah. Pls my fellow brothers and sisters think twice and invest ur money wisely.

  3. Mr Tayo. You’re 100% right, via poor people to stop investing in betting. Practically the way things are going in Nigeria have a lot of people to believe in bet9ja. As a graduate No work, nothing nothing, bet seems to be an option. Mr Tayo, if you have a better way to invest or solution, please send me a anthonychibueze70@yaho.com! Wish all nigerians will listen to you. Remain bless

  4. Did u just say d poor? Lol even d rich do sport betting. U do not spoil other people’s business to make urs grow. Poor advert.

  6. Is it your money? Oga the country and our leaders has failed the youths.! What investment are u talking about in Nigeria? U don’t spoil another man’s business.

  7. He actually provided alternatives in his tweets.

    This saying should be apt to you: When in a ditch, stop digging. You cant be complaining of unemployment and then throw the little you have away sport betting.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.