In the first quarter of 2022, a Ponzi scheme site masquerading as a betting site managed to convince many Nigerians to sign up on their platform.
They promised Nigerians a mandatory 3% profit on their investments and trust Nigerians, many people signed up.
In the end, it crashed and many unsuspecting Nigerians lost millions of Naira.
So how do you avoid the trap of a Ponzi scheme disguised as a betting site?

Online sports betting in Nigeria is a growing trend in Nigeria for reasons that are not far fetched.
Nigerians love their sport and the potential to make some extra money from their passion isn’t an opportunity most will pass up.
Betting companies recognize this and are flocking into the Nigerian market. Currently, there are well over 30 betting companies operating in Nigeria.
However, in the midst of the plethora of betting companies, there are unscrupulous elements like 86fb looking to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians.
Thankfully, it is not that difficult to spot a proper and legitimate online betting site.
Here are some of the factors to look out for in order to not to fall prey to unregistered betting sites or another Ponzi site.
- Online Betting License
The first and most important factor to look out for is whether the betting site is licensed or not.
Betting sites are required to apply for licenses to begin operations in Nigeria.
So, for any betting company to float their website and take customers, they must have been granted a license.
A betting site without a license is a tell tale sign of an unsafe betting site.
- Fair Bonus
A betting site usually offers new players a bonus to get started.
In fact, almost all the betting sites in Nigeria give bonuses to new players. Additionally, there are other freebies like free bets and money back offers.
For instance, one of the top betting sites in the country, Betking, offers cash backs and a nice Betking Bonus.
Therefore, if you find a betting site that offers a bonus, it is one of the signs of a legitimate site.
- Safety Features
Safety on a betting site is very important. This is because players make deposits into their accounts on betting sites using their account information.
Customers are likely to lose sensitive information to unscrupulous elements if the site is not safe or well encrypted.
No matter how attractive or cool a betting site appears to be, there has to be an adequate measure of safety.
- Recognized Payment Methods
A standard betting site has to have varied payment methods for customers.
And betting sites with many payment options show that the operators of the betting site are trusted enough to partner with them.
Additionally, numerous payment methods make for a convenient funding of customer betting accounts.
- Transparency
A legitimate betting site will have their terms and conditions stated on their site.
This is to ensure that customers are familiar with their product offerings.
It is also very important in telling players about policies on the various aspect of their product.