The nexus between the increasing involvement of youth in betting games and unemployment: the Nigerian perspective

Abstract

Purpose Betting games have become a global industry worth billions of dollars providing employment to millions and contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) of several countries. While there are debates and controversies surrounding betting games discourse, a growing body of literature shows that it has been exacerbated by growing unemployment rates. This paper aims to examine the nexus between the increasing involvement of youth in betting games and unemployment from the Nigerian perspective. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts simple random and stratified sampling techniques to select participants for the study. Three hypotheses were tested for this study and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the hypotheses. Findings The three hypotheses tested in this study were coined from previous literature. The study established a direct link between technology advancement, promises of winning big coupled with bonuses while unemployment was not significant to youth involvement in betting games. The study also showed that playing betting games provides another source of income to the youth, who are already engaged in one form of work or another. Finally, youth involvement in betting games has created awareness regarding different sports in the world, while contributing to Nigeria’s economy. Practical implications As betting games centre as a business in Nigeria has contributed substantially and positively to unemployment in Nigeria; the Government of Nigeria are encouraged to streamline and regulate the activities of the sector such that they can contribute significantly to the country GDP and provide employment opportunities to the youths. Originality/value The research shows that the reason why betting games have a massive turnaround of youths in Nigeria is not majorly because of unemployment but as another means to a substantial financial individual/family income. Thus, Nigerian youths see betting games as an avenue to make more money. The study is the first of its kind to examine the nexus between betting games, technology and unemployment hence, its contribution to knowledge.

‘They Say “easy Money”, Telling You to Predict the Games’: An Interview Study with Sports Bettors in Lilongwe, Malawi

“…Our data suggests that attraction to sports betting was frequently generated via hearing stories of large wins, echoing findings in Zimbabwe (Chiweshe, 2020), either through friends or through content sponsored by sports betting companies (Bunn et al, 2020). Poverty was also a motivation and sports betting was often positioned as offering hope for a better future for those lacking economic opportunity, as well as providing 'something to do' as observed in Nigeria and Kenya (Olaore et al, 2020;Schmidt, 2019). The 'gambling careers' of those we spoke to varied, with some participants moving in and out of intense patterns of betting, while others became stuck in harmful patterns (Reith & Dobbie, 2013).…”

“…Across SSA, as in the Global North, participation in new forms of commodified sports betting tends to be gendered, with men substantially more likely to participate than women (Chiweshe, 2020;Connolly et al, 2017). In SSA, a burgeoning literature is documenting the connection between the large communities of fans of European football and the growth in sports betting (Adebisi, Alabi, Arisukwu, & Asamu, 2021;Akanle & Fageyinbo, 2015;Akanle & Fageyinbo, 2016;Bunn et al, 2020;Chiweshe, 2020;Glozah, Tolchard, & Pevalin, 2019;Nabifo, Izudi, & Bajunirwe, 2021;Olaore, Adejare, & Udofia, 2020;Owonikoko, 2020;Schmidt, 2019). This body of scholarship also emphasises the interconnections of sports betting with youth unemployment (Olaore et al, 2020), alcohol consumption (Nabifo et al, 2021) and social interaction and belonging (Adebisi et al, 2021).…”

Proverbs 28:20, 22 and Nigerian Youth’s Drive for Rapid Money

“…The aphorist mentions that youths who live and work honestly and patiently will gain in future, but those who are greedy will eventually become poor (Fleming 2005). The average Nigerian youth is not willing to share his gains with others; instead, Nigerian youth want to acquire more money, notwithstanding whether it is through legitimate means or not (Owonikoko 2020;Tade& Aliyu 2011;Olaore, Adejare & Udofia 2020). Nigerians have lost over NGN300bn in ponzi schemes, even though ponzi schemes are not difficult to detect, but due to the get-rich-quick syndrome, many have been led to the slaughter table of swindlers (Dan-Awoh, 2022).…”

Effect of organizational learning and effectiveness on the operations, employees productivity and management performance

“…Whether organizations apply systematic learning or not, learning still takes place but the approach may not usually guarantee effectiveness in the organization (Sidani and Reese, 2018b;Rose et al, 2020). The inability of organizations to put the right policies in place to ensure their firm is a learning organization usually results in misleading implications that may adversely affect the effectiveness of such organization and also create a loophole in the drive of the firm to build a systematic learning organization that guarantees and promotes effectiveness within and outside the organization (Olaore et al, 2020;Rup ci c, 2020). Many firms today are yet to realize what can be called an ideal learning organization; a factor that can be attributed to the fact that organizations still lack concrete prescriptions on how to fully implement the recommendations and suggestions made by the few available cogent literatures on learning organization and its composition thereby making many organizations to fall behind among organizations that can be fully considered as learning organizations (Sidani and Reese, 2018b).…”