Best Sports Betting Apps in 2023
Most sports fans in Nigeria spend over 90% of their screen time using their smartphones. And even if the percentage numbers are not as high for you personally, it is still likely that you are reading this on your phone. Betting brands are surely aware of this and do their best to provide you with the best possible mobile user experience.
Some bookmakers decide to double down on their mobile website and make it as well-optimized as physically possible. While there are some obvious advantages to only having a web-based interface, a mobile app that you can install on your device is becoming a “must have”.
Web-based betting platforms don’t require as many updates and don’t force companies to develop different applications for different operating systems. Nevertheless, an application that was tailored specifically for your operating system and device will always be much more user friendly.
If you have anything you would like to mention or an app you would like to recommend – you are welcome to share your thoughts and opinions on our sports betting community page.
What Betting Brands We Will Look At?
We went over all betting sites that are currently accepting Nigerian players and where you can use Naira as the main account currency. There was just one exception to this and later you will see which one it is.
We paid close attention to brand legitimacy; we made sure that all brands we recommend here have a valid license. Of course we give priority to original Nigerian betting brands that are licensed by one of the following regulators: National Lottery Regulatory Commission of Nigeria, Lagos State Lotteries Board, Anambra State Gaming Company, Oyo State Gaming Board.
This doesn’t mean that we leave out international brands that don’t have a local license. Such betting sites can also accept Nigerian players and often allow using Naira as the main account currency.
List of Betting Apps in Nigeria
Below is a full list of all the betting apps we can confidently recommend, all of them were downloaded, installed and tested by us. Having said that, each app will have its own “thing” and may be more or less suitable for you, depending on what your interests are and what kind of device you are using. This will be a “living” page, meaning we will be adding more information as updating existing sections things change.
For each individual app we have a dedicated detailed review page, which you can read to learn more about it. It will also have step-by-step download and installation instructions as well as direct download links.
Best Sports Betting Apps for Beginners
Betting apps for beginners is always a difficult topic to cover because most of us will have a different understanding of who can be considered a beginner. For simplicity’s sake, let’s agree on the definition of a “beginner” before we go any further. A beginner in this context is someone who placed their first bet less than three months ago.
Having the above definition in mind, it becomes clear what a newcomer might be looking for. If you are new to sports betting then you most probably are not interested in various complex system bets, niche sports and niche tournaments. You will be looking for something simple, like mainstream top-tier sporting events, a simple and intuitive UI and limited number of options to choose from. A simple beginner-friendly betting platform will help you build a solid foundation and quickly move over to learning more in-depth things.
Parimatch App – The Most User-friendly Interface
Parimatch is a huge, massively successful international betting company. They operate in numerous countries and for each region where they are available – they have a custom-made app. The Nigerian Parimatch app presents itself as a great choice for novice sports bettors – they have a fairly simple, yet functional and intuitive interface. Even if you are completely new, you should feel quite comfortable as long as you are, at least, somewhat familiar with how sports betting works.
The betting interface itself consists of simple components and large easy to read buttons. You have the option to just follow along the path you see in front of you and it will lead you to placing simple bets on popular sporting events. Alternatively, as soon as you become comfortable with the basics, you can explore other things like different bet types, live betting and possibly even virtuals.
Taking all the above into account, Parimatch brings you an application that isn’t only suitable for beginners but will also help you grow and develop your knowledge in the betting domain. If you already have an account, you can use this direct download link.
Special Features
One of the primary features of the Parimatch app is their robust payment system. There are two main payment gateways available: Flutterwave and OPay. Both offer fast payments with no commission and hidden fees. Also, as soon as you have enough funds in your player account to request a withdrawal – you can have that paid directly to your bank account. This applies to almost any local Nigerian bank.
Also, the app has a “Special proposal” section, where you can get personalized offers and exclusive bonuses. If, after reading this, you decide to give Parimatch a chance – make sure to check the proposals section at least one every week.
Where to Get it for Android?
The official Nigerian application can be downloaded directly from the official Parimatch website. For your convenience, you can find the same direct download link below. It is important to note, that if you don’t yet have a player account, it is best to create it on the mobile website. You can, of course, register in the app, but the process is slightly quicker if you use the website.
The app is available for Android devices and can be installed on your phone as long as your operating system version is 5 or newer. If you need any assistance downloading and installing this app on your device, we recommend following our Parimatch (APK) download and installation guide.
Where to Get it for iPhone?
You can also find Parimatch on the App Store for iPhones, however that is not the application you need and it will not work with a Nigerian account. As an iPhone user, you can add Parimatch to your home screen by opening their mobile website in your Safari browser.
Best Betting App for Football
Football is definitely one of the main national sports in Nigeria. Everyone, since their very early years, are fascinated by the world of football and everything around it. Having that in mind, it is a no-brainer that among Nigerian sports fans, football is the most popular sport for betting.
We thought it would be fair to pay extra attention to this section and, possibly, add a bit more variety here. Therefore, you will see two apps featured here – one that focuses on content and the other one focuses on user experience. Which one to choose, will depend on your own personal preferences and betting habits.
Paripesa App – Best Football Content
To be honest, Paripesa is one of our personal favorite brands. If you’ve been reading our other articles and guides, then you probably already know this. They have quite a lot to show as a betting brand and we could have easily included them as an entry for each category on this page. However, we did not do that because we would like to give you a more diverse set of betting apps to choose from.
We decided to place the Paripesa app here due to their extensive football coverage. They offer betting on almost any football league you can think of, which also includes most Nigerian tournaments.
The same can be said about their betting market variety, in other words the number of different bet types available per game. This, of course may vary depending on which game and tournament we are looking at, however Paripesa will on an average have 20% bet type variety.
Special Features
There is quite a lot to be said about the user interface and its features. If you are familiar with their mobile website, you will immediately see the dramatic difference between the website and the app. They differ starting with the design and color scheme all the way to navigation and functionality. Arguably, the application gives you a much more user-friendly interface to work with and many more things to explore.
For instance, this app has a very convenient market search functionality. Usually, you are limited to simply browsing through available bet type categories, this is not the case here. When you open the football betting UI for a specific game – you will see a little icon on the left side of the category bar. If you tap it, a search box will appear, you can now easily search the entire game for any bet types you might be interested in.
Also, high profile games would usually have a “recent games” section, where you can see what other games these teams have played in and what was the result. You will also have information about all the applicable stats, as well as lineup information for each team.
Where to Get it for Android?
The Android application can be downloaded from the official Paripesa website, you can also use the direct download link below. You should be able to install this app on your device if you have an Android OS of 5 or newer. Older operating systems would not be able to run it, so you would need to use the mobile website, which is also quite well-optimized.
In case you would like a more detailed overview of the installation process, you should consider checking our Paripesa app for Android download and installation guide.
Where to Get it for iPhone?
The iPhone application is available for download directly from Apple’s App store. Older iPhones will not be able to run it though, so make sure that your iOS version is 12.0 or newer.
Installing iPhone apps is easy and most Apple users will not need any help here. Still, if you run into any difficulties or will have any questions – you are always welcome to read the Paripesa iPhone app download and installation guide.
N1Bet App – Best Football Betting Interface
N1Bet is our second choice when it comes to football betting. Perhaps their coverage might not always be as impressive as in other places, yet their interface is spot-on. It is simple and has a well thought out color scheme that doesn’t fatigue your eyes.
The overview section of the N1Bet app, where you can see all currently available games (live or pre-match) already has all most popular leagues listed. In most cases you will not need to go past the first page to find the game you are looking for. In addition to that, for each game you will have a small “preview” section where you can see several post popular bet types. Essentially, you can build pretty sophisticated accumulators without even having to open an individual game.
This is the main reason why we put them forward as having the best UI. If you go past this point and open a game (football, for example) – you will see that the interface is mostly similar to what you are already used to.
Special Features
One of the best things about N1Bet and their app, are the special offers. You will get the chance to claim several free bets as well as get deposit bonuses and win prizes.
This app also gives you full control over your loss, wager and deposit limits. Usually, betting operators have an option like this only on their website, so being able to set limits in the app is definitely a step up. Of course, we hope that you will never find yourself in a situation where you need to configure limits, but just keep in mind that it is always an option.
Where to Get it for Android?
As an Android user, intuitively, you might want to go to Google Play and find the N1Bet app there. Indeed, it will be there and you can even download and install it. If you do it, pretty soon you will find out that this isn’t the app you need and that your account is not usable there. So where to get the correct Android app?
You will need to open their mobile website on your device and sign in with your player account. You will then get a download prompt pop-up, which you need to confirm. We have a detailed N1Bet Android app download and installation guide which you can follow step-by-step.
Where to Get it for iPhone?
As an iPhone user, you won’t really have an actual downloadable application for N1Bet. Instead, you would need to add it to your home screen. This is easy, you need to open N1Bet’s mobile website in your Safari browser, tap the “share” button and add N1Bet to your home screen.
Betting Apps with Free Money
Now, this one might sound a bit absurd because, who in the word is giving away free money? Nevertheless, since some of you are asking this question – we decided to investigate this. Indeed, nobody will just approach you unexpectedly to give you free money. However, in some cases, there is an option to get some “free” bonus funds.
By free bonus funds we are referring to bonuses that don’t require you to make a deposit or any other contribution. One of the best examples of this is 1win – they have something called “daily bonus lottery”. This means every day each active player can get a random free bonus added to their account, no question asked.
1win Bet App – Free Bonus Giveaways
1win is an international betting brand that is becoming increasingly popular in Nigeria. The funny thing is that it doesn’t seem like they were planning to enter the Nigerian sports betting scene. However, for some reason local sports fans saw them as a good betting platform.
1win bet app is colorful and fun in many different ways. It is suitable for most bettors, as it has a decent well-balanced coverage of most popular sports. As always, a special emphasis is made on football content.
1win’s betting app is almost an exact copy of their mobile website, so don’t worry if your device doesn’t meet the necessary requirements. You will not miss anything major, as you will still be able to use the mobile website, which is well-optimized and fast.
Special Features
The main special feature, and the reason why we are talking about 1win now, is their daily bonus lottery. Any registered layer can take part in it and the rules are super simple. You press a button and get some bonus funds added to your player account. As this is a lottery, the amount you get is totally random, so it is always exciting to see what you will get.
The other thing worth mentioning is not actually a special feature – it is more of a limitation, which you must be aware of. 1win supports making deposits directly from Nigerian bank accounts, however withdrawals to Nigerian banks are not yet possible. As a player from Nigeria, you will be able to choose between crypto or PerfectMoney. If you are not familiar with these payment options, you might want to learn about them first.
Where to Get it for Android?
The Android application is freely available on 1win’s official website. If you don’t yet have an account – we would recommend creating one before downloading the app. First, you will need to open their mobile website, once you are there, scroll to the bottom of the home page. On the bottom of the home page, you will see a direct app download button. Tap that button to start your download. If you are unsure where exactly to find this download button or are having difficulties installing, we recommend reading our 1win APK download and installation guide.
Where to Get it for iPhone?
If you are an iPhone user, you can get 1win to your home screen in just a couple of taps. First of all, you will need to open their mobile website in your Safari browser. If you have a different browser set as the default one, you will need to copy the link below and paste it into the address bar in safari.
Now, tap the “share” button and add 1win to your home screen. Obviously, this might not be the “app” you were hoping for, however a full proper app is simply not yet ready for Apple devices.
Best Betting Apps for Android
Naming the best betting app for Android devices means making a rather bold statement. We put a lot of thought into this and the decision was not made lightly and might also change over time. Nevertheless, we put all our currently available betting app reviews side-by-side and made an informed decision. The main things we were looking at were content availability, user-friendliness, performance and fairly reasonable system requirements. Luckily one of the apps scored well with all these factors.
Paripesa App – The Best One on Android so Far
As we already mentioned earlier – the sportsbook which we feel most comfortable recommending to others is Paripesa. They are a reliable betting company with a good and modern app that will easily run on pretty much any (more-or-less) modern Android device.
Paripesa also has a good reputation in the local betting community and we strongly believe that they are going to become one of the main local betting brands. Therefore, we can confidently say that Paripesa is currently the best betting app in Nigeria for Android devices.
Best Betting Apps for iPhone
While it might be relatively easy to find betting apps for other types of devices, for an iPhone user, it might be a bit tricky. To make sure we all have the same thing in mind, let’s agree that an actual betting app is something that you download and install on your device, not a bookmaker that you add to your home screen.
Most betting brands instead of having an app on the App Store, will simply tell you to add their mobile website to your home screen by using the “share” option in Safari browser. This isn’t something bad and if you are happy with using the mobile website, you should be all good. Nevertheless, right now we are talking about apps, so very few local betting sites have an iPhone app.
Getting an application listed and approved on Apple’s App Store takes a lot of time and requires a lot of work. Therefore, it is something that only bigger bookmakers decide to spend their time on.
Mozzartbet App – Runs Smooth on iOS
Mozzartbet is one of the oldest betting brands in the industry and one of the biggest (turnover-wise) bookmakers operating in Nigeria. Having over 20 years of experience, Mozzartbet does everything they can to make sure their players have a good time. This also means that they did actually go the extra mile and got their Mozzartbet app listed on the App Store for iPhones.
Where to Get it for iPhone?
As with any “proper” iOS app – Mozzartbet’s betting app can be found on the App Store. You can search for “Mozzartbet Nigeria” and the first search result is exactly what you are looking for. We will also share a direct link to the app right here for your convenience.
In order to install and run this app, your device must have an iOS version of 12.0 or higher. You should also have at least 150 MB of free disk space. The app itself is just over 100 MB, but you should still have some additional space left, otherwise your phone will become slow, and the app will be crashing all the time.
Special Features
There are several noteworthy things about the Mozzatbet app, however there is one which stands out the most – BetBuilder. This is quite a popular feature in general, however very few Nigerian betting sites have it.
For those of you, who don’t yet know what it is, BetBuilder – is a betting interface that would allow you to build same-game accumulators. By default, bookmakers will not allow this, combining correlated outcomes in one bet is forbidden. BetBuider works with a different, more sophisticated odds calculation algorithm, that allows you to “build” accumulators using selections from the same game. For example, you can place a bet that would go something like this: home team to win and over 2.5 and exact number of goals is 4. As you understand, under normal circumstances such a combination bet would not be possible.
Download Betting App – How-to
Now that we’ve covered all of the top betting apps, their strong and weak sides – it is a good point to have a quick overview of the installation process. Of course, most of you already know what you are doing and don’t really need any help. However, we feel that there might be some of you out there, who aren’t as confident with modern devices and may use some assistance.
Installing apps is easy as pie, so don’t worry even if you’ve never done it yourself. We will give you a detailed, yet easy step-by-step instruction which you can follow at your own pace.
Depending on what kind of device you are using (Android or iPhone) you will need to look at one of the two sections below. Before proceeding, we recommend making sure that you have at least 150 MB of free disk space on your device.
Downloading Betting Apps on Android
As an Android user, you can consider yourself to be lucky because most betting sites will have an official application that you can download directly from their website. It is worth keeping in mind that betting applications are rarely stored on Google Play, so there is no point in looking for them there.
If you want to get an app for a given betting brand, simply open their website on your phone and find (if one exists) a direct app download link.
If you are interested in getting one of the apps we mentioned earlier, simply navigate to the corresponding section of this page, follow the given link and download the installation (APK) file. Most betting apps will require an Android version of 5 or newer, otherwise they will simply not work on your device.
Now, if you already know which app you want to use and have already found where to download it, follow the steps given below to get it installed on your phone.
Step One – Download the Installation (.apk) File
At this point you found the download link and pressed it. A pop-up will appear around the bottom of your screen, it will ask you whether you are sure you want to download this file. The reason you are being asked this is that .apk files can potentially be harmful, so make sure you are downloading the app from its official source. Tap the “Ok” button if you want to proceed.
Step Two – Install the App
When the download is completed, the message in that same pop-up window will change, showing a completion sign and giving you the option to open it. Tap the “Open” button to continue. If this is your first time, then your phone likely will not allow installing apps from “unknown” sources and you will be directed to the settings page. On the settings page, you will see an option that says “Allow from this source”, you need to enable this.
Once you do it, you will be returned to the previous screen where you will then have an option to install the app. Tap the “Install” button to continue.
Step Two – Install the App
Once the app is successfully installed on your device, it should appear on your home screen. Verify that the app works as expected by opening it and signing in with your player account.
Downloading Betting Apps on iPhone
Downloading betting apps on iPhones is pretty straightforward and Apple knows how to do it, which is why we won’t spend too much time on this topic.
Let’s agree that this section covers only the “real” apps that are available on Apple’s App Store. From all the apps covered earlier only two have official iOS versions: Paripesa and Mozzartbet.
If you want to get one (or both) of those apps on your device, simply open the App Store and type the corresponding name into the search box. One quick thing to note, there might be different Mozzartbet app versions available, so make sure to pick the one that has “Nigeria” in the name. Otherwise, you will not be able to log in with your Nigerian player account.
Bet Responsibly
Finally, after covering quite a complex multi-dimensional topic, we would like to take a couple of minutes to talk about your mental well-being. It is important to remember that sports betting is a hobby and should not be treated as anything other than a hobby.
Placing a bet to support your favorite team should add some more excitement into watching a game, it is also a good way to socialize with fellow sports fans. Betting should not be treated as an easy way to make money, it is simply a way to entertain yourself.
If you start feeling unsure of whether you still enjoy betting, it might be a good idea to take a step back and look at this from a different angle. You and start by taking our gambling addiction self-assessment test – it is free and anonymous.
Even if test results will state that you are fine, yet you clearly don’t feel like it – we recommend taking a break. If taking a break is not possible and you feel a constant urge to start betting, we strongly recommend getting help. A good place to start with is https://www.gamblingtherapy.org/en – they have 24/7 online support, where you can talk with trained professionals. They will help you put together a plan and will help you follow that plan. You can also take part in group discussions together with other people, where you can listen to others and get their support.