Do you actually know that, according to the Africa Report.com, about 60 million Nigerians regularly bet? This is one of the reasons Statista thinks the industry could reach $626.1 million in 2025 and $755.86 million by 2029. If this happens, the industry will have increased by a CAGR of about 4.83% over the four years.
But why exactly is the industry expected to grow? What are the factors driving this growth? Well, if you have such questions, you need not worry. This article will provide answers by exploring different factors, so keep reading.
Increased usage of mobile phones
Although the percentage of Nigerians with smartphones is relatively low (between 11.8% and 18.9%), it might significantly increase in the future. In fact, a recent projection anticipates that 140 million Nigerians will be using smartphones by 2025. This is already a huge statistic for betting companies targeting the region to ignore.
This is why brands like Campeonbet are adopting responsive designs that work well on such devices. Because player experience has become very important in this industry, you want punters to have seamless experiences on smaller devices as they would on larger devices. Of course, almost every punter would prefer such an experience.
Looking at the broader e-commerce sector, 73.1% of web designers agree that non-responsiveness is the primary reason visitors abandon websites. On the flip side, responsive designs can improve conversion rates by 11% compared to non-responsive ones and increase unique clicks among mobile users by up to 15%.
And since 74% of visitors easily return to websites that function well on mobile phones, it’s safe to suggest that responsive designs are really helping this industry to advance. Plus, developing such a website allows you to reach more people than creating designs that only work well on desktops. As a result, more punters can participate even on the go, encouraging the industry’s further growth.
A great focus on customer experience (CX)
We have already hinted at how customer experience has become extremely important in the sports betting industry. Modern punters have become more intolerant – just a single mistake can cost you significant losses. Can you imagine that, according to Help Scout, two or more bad experiences can cause up to 80% of consumers to turn to competitors?
You don’t want to envision this for your brand, so anything that improves CX is always welcome. Let’s take a technology like artificial intelligence (AI), for instance. Most people know it because of its ability to gather and crunch enormous data files within a matter of seconds. This can really be handy for Nigerian sportsbooks seeking to improve their personalisation strategies.
Already, 73% of consumers want brands to be able to distinguish their unique tastes and understand them better. Such statistics explain why sportsbooks targeting this region are implementing AI to stay ahead. With this technology, they can monitor punters’ habits and preferences and tailor recommendations that perfectly align with them.
That way, they can establish more personal connections with punters, which may lead to higher retention rates. In fact, a study by Firework claims that personalising can improve retention rates by as much as 44%. And, of course, you’d expect the industry to become more robust as more punters become loyal.
This is especially beneficial when launching new products. Loyal and engaged consumers tend to easily try new products than newer ones. Therefore, as the industry focuses on retaining as many punters as possible, it may reach Statista’s predictions or even surpass them.
A greater focus on online security
Cyberattacks are not strange in Nigeria. Just recently, marketscreener.com highlighted that the country faces about 18,872 attacks per month. And now that its tech ecosystem is really advancing, this number could actually increase in the coming days. That is why you don’t want to close your eyes to online security even for a second.
IBM suggests you might need at least $4.88 billion to recover from such instances. Besides financial losses, you might hurt your brand reputation at a time when internet users – not just Nigerians – are becoming more security conscious. Surprisingly, about 85% of adults worldwide want to do more to improve their digital privacy.
To cater to such preferences, bookmakers can integrate more secure protocols like MFA. Interestingly, an MFA approach like 2FA can prevent exposure to over 99.9% of targeted attacks. Others, like SSL encryption, are important as they prevent unauthorised access to internet communications.
AI is also making waves in the sector by improving real-time fraud monitoring. This allows sportsbooks to detect suspicious action early and apply necessary mitigation measures. By adopting these security measures, bookmakers can boost punters’ confidence and encourage them to participate, leading to growth.
Our final word
There’s no denying the fact that the Nigerian sports betting sector is on the rise. At a time when punters are increasingly using their mobile phones to place wagers, sportsbooks are adjusting to these modern shifts by integrating responsive designs to improve relevance. There has also been a surge of more engaging experiences like personalisation that keep punters connected on these platforms.
On top of that, the growing emphasis on online security in the industry strengthens player confidence, encouraging them to join. As Nigeria continues to welcome more innovation, we may see the industry advance even more to surpass predictions made by different research institutions.
