Football betting is unarguably the most-favoured gambling option among Nigerian youths and this is believed to have cast great prestige around Bet9ja (Nigeria’s most-visited football betting site).
Needless to say, many Nigerian punters are subscribed to Bet9ja but only few of them know the name(s) of the site’s owner(s). Therefore, this evokes the statement “Who is the owner of Bet9ja” –a question that will be answered in this post.

Who is Kunle Soname?

Kunle Soname is an entrepreneur, sport lover and politician of Nigerian descent. He is currently the owner of C.D. Feirense –a European club he acquired in 2015. Although Soname has a couple of business dealings, he’s best known for his co-ownership of Bet9ja –the online football betting platform he co-founded in 2013.
In 2004, Soname established FC DENDER which would later become present-day Remo Stars Football Club. Notably, Remo Stars Football Club had a change of location from Lagos (where it was established) to Remo, Ogun state.

Academic Background & Political Career

Kunle Soname is a graduate of Political Science. An alumnus of Lagos State University (LASU), Soname graduated from the said university in 1996 and in 2003, he began a political career.
His political career earned him a notable position as the Executive Chairman of Ikosi-Isheri Local Council –a political post he held between 2003 and 2011.

Personal Life

Not much has been said about Soname’s personal life but it is obvious that the Bet9ja co-founder is a diehard sports lover. Notably, Kunle Soname is a family man with Kemi Soname (wife) and Erioluwa (daughter).
According to a statement retrieved from National Daily Newspaper, Soname claimed to have established Remo Stars FC and Bet9ja as instruments for clamping down on violence and crime.

Bet9ja

Bet9ja is Nigeria’s most-visited football betting site founded by the pair of Kunle Soname (its chairman) and Ayo Ojuroye (its CEO). As a football betting platform, Bet9ja provides customers with betting on notable sporting events. Meanwhile, the site maintains a great footing as Nigeria’s third most-visited site coming behind only Google.com and Youtube.com.
As stated by IABC Africa, Bet9ja is Nigeria’s only website featuring among the world’s 500 most-visited websites. Currently, Bet9ja offers punters the gambling options of sports betting, online casino and bookmaking.
Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, Bet9ja is licensed by LSLB (Lagos State Lotteries Board) and is traded under KC Gaming Networks Limited.

Bet9ja Sponsorships

Following the memorandum it penned with the Nigeria Women’s Football League in 2015, Bet9ja became the sponsor of the said league. Similarly, the popular sports betting site is said to have agreed with Remo Stars F.C. over a shirt sponsorship deal in 2013.
Reports have also claimed that Bet9ja, in 2017, came to agreement with the Nigeria National League (Nigeria’s penultimate men’s football league) on a sponsorship deal worth #200 million. However, the deal –between Bet9ja and the Nigeria National League –came to an abrupt end only two years after its agreement. It’s noteworthy that the sponsorship deal, at the point of endorsement in 2017, was meant to last for several years but in 2019, the Nigeria National League (NNL) declared that it had lost its title sponsors (with Bet9ja).
Also, there was an official declaration, indicating Bet9ja as the BBNaija’s (Season 4) headline sponsor.

Kunle Soname’s Net Worth

Kunle Soname has been labeled a businessman with a handful of dealings. His business dealings are said to have earned him considerable fortune, bringing his net worth to the tune of $100 million.

Conclusion

Bet9ja is undoubtedly the most popular football betting site in Nigeria but it’s quite surprising that some of the punters subscribed to the site do not know its owners. Therefore, it’s noteworthy for Nigerian punters (particularly those patronizing Bet9ja) that Nigeria’s most-visited football betting site is owned by Kunle Soname and Ayo Ojuroye.