Bet9ja

There’s probably no bigger betting brand in Nigeria today than bet9ja. Given their popularity one might think that they have been around for ages. That is however not the case. This Nigerian betting Goliath has only been around since 2013. During their somewhat short operation they have managed to sweep Nigeria off it’s feet. They done this by opening up betting shops and acquiring more online customers.

We look forward to find out what makes bet9ja such a popular brand in an overcrowded industry like online betting. Much like the other main Nigerian betting operators, Bet9ja is regulated and licensed by the Lagos State Lotteries Board. This means that they have to follow the rules set by the board authority in order to offer their services to Nigerian customers.

Myself, and the rest of the gamblers.africa team, have had the pleasure to test, play and review the bet9ja product to it’s full extent. Furthermore, this opportunity has given us insight into why this betting giant is one of the best betting sites in Nigeria.

Bet9ja has taken the Nigerian betting market by wind in the past few years.

Upon landing on the bet9ja website we were presented with a bright green landing page. The splash screen highlights the welcome offer of 100% welcome bonus up to ₦100,000. Below the offer there’s a simple visual representation of the user journey: Register, Deposit, Bonus. As I was trying to figure out how to view the product before I register, I noticed the button “GO TO SITE”.

The website, and product itself, is quite sleek and subtle. They have achieved this by balancing dark colours along with their signature bet9ja green colour. The layout of the website is very straightforward. Which is a fresh breeze in the saturated African market of outdated retro betting sites.

I was surprised to see that bet9ja also offers casino games, however I didn’t notice any mention of big gaming providers. Which would lead me to believe that the games available are old-school slots. Another fun little surprise is that bet9ja was the main sponsor for Big Brother Naija 2019, as well as SociaLiga.

As far as first impression goes, bet9ja seems to be on the higher end of Nigerian betting sites compared to the competition.

The bet9ja registration process is pretty simple. All that’s needed email, name, date of birth, username, password, state and mobile number. And that’s pretty much it!

Upon completing the registration, a notification is displayed. This message highlights that an email has been sent to you to verify your email address. This verification has to be done before any withdrawals can be made on the bet9ja account. There are also some hints of a KYC (Know your customer) process. This means that you may at some point have to provide documents to KYC verify your account. To give you an example, these are some documents that may be requested:

• Copy of passport/driver’s license
• Copy of utility bill (electricity bill, water bill, bank statement, rental agreement, etc)

In the event that you move states after registering your account and you are required to KYC verify. Just give the explanation as you submit your documents. This way the verification process won’t be delayed.

The overall experience in the product is quite satisfying. As can be seen on the screenshots further up in this review, the bet9ja website is extremely easy to navigate.

There were two things that I did not enjoy during my time exploring the bet9ja betting site. First of all, in the contact page there is a Live Chat option, however there is nowhere to click to initiate the chat. As I needed help in order to inquire deposit limits on the account I sent a message instead. In addition to the message system there is also a phone number, but as it doesn’t state whether it is toll free or not I decided to save money and send a message. Furthermore their phone line is only open until 21:00.

Secondly, a lot of features such as account settings, banking etc opens up in a browser pop-up. In other words, every time you access the banking page it opens in a separate window. Moreover this occurs on both desktop and mobile. With this is mind, remember to close the new window/tab after your transaction is done.

Speaking of banking, there are a ton of different deposit methods to make use of, for example:

• Credit and Debit Cards
• Bank Transfer
• Mobile Payments
• Airtime Payments

In terms of mobile betting, bet9ja offers a seamless mobile betting site much like the desktop product. In addition to this there’s a bet9ja old mobile version, which is available for users with low end devices. According to me, the normal product offers the best user experience. But you might be better off using the bet9ja old mobile version if you have an older mobile device – like an older Tecno.

Besides this, my overall experience with bet9ja has been positive so far!

SPORTS BETTING

The betting experience is quite on point. They have managed to keep the betting journey very simple. Just choose what you would like to bet on and they will be added to your bet slip. Furthermore, in the bet slip you can choose between placing the bet as an accumulator or as a system bet.

Coupled with the simple journey, there is great features like live in-play, cashouts, virtual sports. Not to mention their free Super9ja features that allows you to predict games for free and win real money.

• Live In-Play
• Virtual Sports
• Super9ja

In addition to the nice features, the actual offering of markets and lines is huge. To put it differently, you can bet on local Nigerian events as well as event from the other side of the world. I couldn’t think of any events that bet9ja does not offer today.

ONLINE CASINO

Generally speaking, an operator either focuses on sports betting or online casino. Obviously there are big operators that have been in the game for a long time that now offers great sportsbooks coupled with great casino games. But generally speaking, they are usually a sports betting site or an online casino.

In the light of seeing that bet9ja offers casino games I was positively surprised. However, upon playing these games they were extremely boring and outdated. To begin with, the design, sound and user experience is quite dull. With this being said, I would not recommend bet9ja as an online casino. On the other hand, it is a great sports betting site.

With this in mind, and if it does not bother you. There are a few bet9ja online casino features that I would like to point out:

• Table Games
• Live Casino
• Roulette
• Slots

Just to emphasize, the Live Casino feature offered at bet9ja is powered by Ezugi. Ezugi’s Live Casino product is in fact my second favourite product after Evolution Live Casino.

Bet9ja offers quite a generous welcome bonus to all Nigerian players:

100% welcome bonus up to ₦100,000

All new players are eligible for this offer, in addition to new players registering their accounts in a bet9ja shop. To receive the offer, you need to make a minimum deposit of ₦100.

Another key point is that you need to stake your full deposit before receiving the bonus. In addition to this, before the bonus is credited, all initial bets must be settled. You also need to wager the bonus 10 times before you can withdraw your winnings.

Besides this, I couldn’t find any other information on bet9ja’s site of any other promotions than the welcome bonus. As I highlighted previously, they have features like Super9ja but I would prefer some more action with a few more bonuses.

I appreciate that bet9ja is transparent with their KYC process to manage a player’s expectation. By following the KYC process they also ensure that no underage gambling takes place and that the player’s identity is verified. Equally important, they also offer Nigerian customers to limit their spending or to close their account for a certain period.

One of the pillars of gamblers.africa’s mission is Responsible Gambling. It should be a priority for all operators in Africa to protect their players from overspending and reckless betting. By having measures such as deposit limits and self-tests, players are much more in control of their betting budget.

At a glance, it seems like Bet9ja offers players to set limits and closures. However, after a infuriating and long back and forth with the customer support to get help on setting deposit limits, I was advised it is not possible. My only option was to request an account closure which is better than nothing. It may be that Bet9ja are trying to score points by advertising deposit limits, unfortunately that’s not the case.

As the one of the best betting sites in Nigeria, we have high expectations of bet9ja. I am pleased to say that I am happy with their product, assistance and user experience. Based on my experience, I would definitely keep playing at bet9ja.

It’s important to highlight that if you prefer online casinos with casino games – rather check out some other Nigerian online casinos. But for sports betting players? We approve of bet9ja.

If you are using a desktop you will have a great time at bet9ja’s desktop version. Although bet9ja’s mobile platform is very satisfying as well. You will find all the features and pros on both mobile and desktop. As I mentioned earlier, there is a somewhat unknown platform called bet9ja old mobile. This platform is for players that are using old/low end devices, while it is not offering the same experience and features, it may work better for you.

As shown above, bet9ja has met our expectations and has proved itself as a big competitor on the Nigerian betting market. They truly live up to their popularity and we believe they will continue to do so by keeping up with the trends. Register today and make use of your welcome bonus.

BET9JA FAQ