How we empower Nigerians – Ukanwoke, BetKing MD

 

Gossy Ukanwoke is an entrepreneur, investor and government advisor with interest in industries that drive inclusive growth, such as education, fintech, security, entertainment and gaming.

In this interview, the Managing Director of KingMakers Nigeria, owners of BetKing, explains how the company is eradicating poverty by providing platform to Nigerians to build livelihoods for themselves and their families. Excerpts:

With just few years of operation, you are regarded as king in betting business, what are you doing differently?

The BetKing brand was launched in Nigeria in February 2018 with the goal of changing the status quo in the gaming industry. We have worked to empower entrepreneurs and give Nigerians opportunities to experience life-changing moments of excitement.

 

 

In the last few years, we have been regarded as one of the top sports betting brands in Nigeria. This has propelled us to grow into the global market. We offer sports and virtual gaming services to customers online and in retails shops. These shops are built by businessmen and women looking to use our platform to build livelihoods for themselves and their families.

Our achievements would not be possible without a number of factors such as having the right talents within the company, world-class products and reliable partners. Our reliability has helped us garner trust from our customers, and this is not something that was built overnight. We have also looked at the best ways to provide as much value as possible to our agents and business partners. We will continue to champion efforts geared towards brand growth and service excellence.

We have put a lot more emphasis on building stronger relationships with our communities and external stakeholders. We have also brought this relationship building into the business community, working with our internal stakeholders and industry colleagues to champion the progress of the gaming industry. In the last year, we have launched a number of CSR initiatives to support businesses, governments and young people with resources, training and financing.

 

 

BetKing celebrated its 3rd year anniversary earlier in the year, why the brand relaunch at this time?

Our brand relaunch follows the launch of our corporate brand KingMakers, which represents the next stage of our business evolution to become a sports entertainment services provider to our customers beyond just sports betting. We are launching a few new products in the market that will set us apart and we needed our brand to be aligned with this next phase. We have also become an African wide business and there is need to have a brand that speaks to our presence in multiple countries.

 

 

 

The relaunch is the first step in a series of enhancements to the BetKing offering in Nigeria that will unfold over the coming months. We will be bringing many new and exciting offerings, products and experiences to our customers and agents. In addition to this, we stay committed to driving CSR initiatives as this remains a core in our purpose as a business – bettering the communities where we find ourselves.

For instance, in 2020, we supported several communities in the middle of lockdown with some care packages, food and wellness products. We supported our agents with resources to aid them because their shops were closed during lockdown and finally towards the end of the year, we supported over 200 market women with funding to rebuild their vandalized market stalls and shops in partnership with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund. This year, we have supported the training of over 3000 youths in Imo State. We are going to continue providing training for our youths, support community sports and investment in businesses.

How do you intend to challenge the status quo of gaming in Africa?

We already kicked this off with our launch in 2018 and the communication of what we stood for. With our evolution, we are marrying entertainment and sports to deliver exciting experiences to customers around the continent. This is made possible with our powerful partnership with the MultiChoice group. This partnership is the first of its kind in Africa and is set to deliver great results in the near future.

BetKing is known to offer the biggest odds on major leagues. What is the rationale behind this?

We offer the most competitive odds across several sports and our rationale is simply to give our customers the best value possible. The higher the odds, the higher the potential payout. With the brand relaunch, our customers should not expect anything less. That Feeling, That’s BetKing” reflects our commitment to selling experiences and providing platforms for customers to create and feel winning moments. It could be as simple as winning a bet, supporting a winning team, opening a shop, enjoying a community development project aimed at bettering lives.

There are growing concerns over the increase in football betting among young Nigerians. The major worry is that it may create problems that may lead to a ban

Sports betting in Nigeria is regulated like in other places and as such, we follow the required regulation to provide a safe space for our customers to engage with our services. We ensure that appropriate communication is shared with customers on the need for responsible gambling. Our users can only take out any winnings due to them after a KYC process is done which verifies their age and checks that they are really the customers taking out the winnings. Our agents are sensitized on how to restrict access to their shops to underage gamers and signs are put on to remind customers of these expectations.

What are the challenges confronting your sector in Nigeria and how are you surviving?

The government is already taking all the right steps towards supporting the industry. We have just concluded the first National Gaming Conference which we attended and properly participated in. It shows that the government is looking to engage with all the stakeholders in the industry to continue on the road for better regulation, support, engagement and protection.

 

 

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