By Cross Udo, Abuja
The rapid expansion of the gambling industry in low-income communities across Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone is deepening economic hardship among young people. It could be contributing to rising debt, youth unrest and some forms of crime, a new Nextier policy analysis has warned.
The analysis, authored by Joshua Biem, Senior Policy and Research Analyst at Nextier, and Olive Aniunoh, Legal, Policy and Research Consultant, found that betting shops have increasingly become fixtures in slums, motor parks and informal settlements across West African cities.
According to the report, the concentration of betting outlets in such communities reflects the economic vulnerability of residents, particularly young people facing limited employment opportunities and weak social support systems.
Nigeria, it said, has one of Africa’s largest gambling markets, with industry estimates putting betting revenue at as much as $3.63 billion in 2025. More than 60 million Nigerians, mostly between 18 and 40, are also reportedly regular bettors.
The report linked the rapid expansion of betting to worsening youth unemployment, warning that economic exclusion was creating fertile ground for gambling as young people seek alternative sources of income.
“Gambling functions less as a pathway out of poverty than as a coping mechanism for it,” the authors said.
They warned that reliance on betting could worsen indebtedness and, in some cases, push vulnerable young people towards informal criminal economies.
The analysts recommended harmonising gambling regulations across jurisdictions, strengthening age and identity verification and restricting the density and location of betting outlets in economically vulnerable communities.
They also called for intelligence-led monitoring of betting clusters associated with debt-driven theft, cultism or fraud, alongside targeted livelihood programmes, vocational training and financial literacy initiatives in slums and peri-urban communities.
According to the report, such interventions would help tackle the economic desperation that creates demand for gambling rather than relying solely on regulation of betting operators.
The analysts also urged gambling companies to strengthen responsible-gambling measures by introducing self-exclusion systems, spending limits and advertising rules designed to prevent the targeting of economically vulnerable young people.
The report cautioned against treating betting outlets as the sole cause of criminality, arguing that they tend to flourish in communities where economic desperation is already pronounced.
“Betting shops do not ‘manufacture criminality’ on their own,” the report stated.
It warned that without measures to address unemployment, debt, inadequate social protection and urban marginalisation, the continued expansion of what it described as an under-regulated betting economy could worsen the social pressures contributing to youth unrest across West Africa.
