The year 2019 was a year that would not be forgotten too quickly by some very lucky punters who despite all the cries of unpredictability of sporting events within the year, still found themselves on the winning list of some of the top bookmakers in the country. There have been stories of people that won a little amount of money here and there in the course of the year, but very few people heard the stories behind some of the major winnings posted by punters in 2019.
That was the case with Netbet, one of the globally recognised brands that commenced operations in Nigeria early last year. Netbet came into Nigeria with specific objective for both the immediate and future dealings of the brand in Nigeria. According to the Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Joe Richa, “Netbet is a global brand; we operate all across Europe – Italy, France, Belgium, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Asia. In some places we operate under a different name but in Nigeria, our identity is Netbet. Our aim is to use Nigeria as a learning curve in Africa and through this project, reach out to other parts of the continent. So, Nigeria is our first destination and home base in Africa.”
Indeed, the arrival of the brand in the Nigerian sports betting market signalled a winning beginning for many punters. The first major payout by the brand came few months after the commencement of operations in the country and it was a celebrated story.
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In an exclusive chat with the Marketing Manager, Mr. Tope Adefala, All Sports Predictions discovered that the company has been consistently putting smiles on the faces of punters across the country through its huge and timely payout to punters who won on the brand’s platform.
Here are the 5 highest payouts by the Netbet brand in 2019.
1. BET ID 637033579967156375 (NGN9, 548,470)
This was the highest payout from Netbet in 2019. The payout was made few months after Netbet commenced operations in Nigeria. There were lot of amazing facts about this particular winning just like most of the other winnings on this list. The winner of this bet was a female punter who used N1000 free bet from the platform to stake on a ticket comprising 9 game selections in the tennis event. The total odd played was 9549.47 in the live betting market. The winning was posted in September and payment was made immediately to the lucky punter.
2. BET ID 637026112143145117 (NGN3, 635, 000)
At the beginning of the season the Champions League qualification games were a major feature in the football calendar, a very wise punter was decisive in his decision to invest in the games based on the manner of investment made. This punter selected only 3 games from the soccer event and craftily predicted on the odd/even market staking N500, 000 on 7.27 odds. The bet won NGN3, 635, 000, standing as the second highest payout by Netbet in 2019.
3. BET ID 636863754360488035 (NGN2, 790, 000)
This winning was posted in February of 2019 and the winner can be regarded as one of the early winners with Netbet. This bet was another daring investment from a punter who was either very lucky or confident that he or she knows what the game was all about. The punter placed a bet on a single game in the Europa League (Benfica vs. Galataxaray) predicting the outcome to be a straight draw at 4.65 odds. The stake on this game was NGN600, 000 and amazingly the game ended in a 0 – 0 draw winning a total of NGN2, 790, 000.
4. BET ID 637044297269550877 (NGN1, 806, 000)
This punter placed a bet on Atletico Madrid vs. Juventus during the Champions League game in September selecting the straight draw market with a total of 3.0 odds. The punter was daring enough to stake NGN602, 000 0n the game. This paid off and enabled the punter to double the investment winning NGN1, 806, 000.
5. BET ID 637131980788570690 (NGN1, 799, 489)
A punter was wise enough to cash in on the rivalry between Arsenal and Chelsea in the first half of the current English Premier League season. Having studied the two teams and observing the gunners’ struggle for form, a bet was placed on the game involving the teams on 29th of December 2019 with the punter backing Chelsea to beat Arsenal at 2.35 odds, and staking a whooping NGN765, 740. Chelsea eventually won that match by 2 goals to 1 winning the punter a total sum of NGN1, 799, 489.
These were the top 5 payout by Netbet in 2019. According to Mr. Adefala, the brand is hoping to make more people millionaires in the year 2020 as they continue to engage with the brand and explore the many game options the platform offers. Netbet is committed to Nigeria and as long as there are winners on the platform, there will always be stories of people smiling to the bank.
By Remi Olatunde
