Sports betting: Escape route from poverty or highway to penury?

In this piece, GIFT HABIB explores the rising involvement of youths in sports betting and their seeming addiction to gambling which experts describe as a pathway to drug abuse and other self-destructive habits

As early as 7:52 am on Saturday, November 12, 2022, two young boys stood on a street, waiting for a betting shop in the Kubwa area of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to open for business. They chatted about how they narrowly missed winning big the night before due to the loss suffered by their favourite club – Chelsea football club.

A few minutes later, the shop attendant arrived and everyone trooped into the shop which was equipped with two computers and three iron chairs. On the wall was a BetKings poster motivating people to play and win. On the floor were rumpled or torn betting slips trashed by disappointed stakers – symbols of forlorn hope, evidence of aborted dreams. The young men hurriedly placed their bets as they clutched at dreams of a jackpot.

Sports betting has become an escape route for many Nigerian youths seeking a way out of the economic crunch in the country. For many who do not have a stable means of livelihood, gambling has become an alternative source of income and this explains the attraction of sports betting to the youths.