OPay Under Fire For Bringing Betting To App
Nigerian youths have criticised fintech company OPay over the integration of multiple betting platforms into its application, describing the move as dangerous amid growing concerns about gambling addiction in the country.
The backlash followed reactions on X, formerly Twitter, where several users questioned why a financial platform used for everyday transactions would provide access to betting and gambling services.
One of the users, Bearded Shina, called on the Federal Government to intervene and stop OPay from featuring betting platforms on its transaction platform.
He expressed concern that the integration could expose younger users to gambling and encourage betting addiction, particularly as the services are made accessible alongside regular financial transactions.
“There is already a betting and gambling pandemic. There are millions of people struggling with gambling addiction who have had their lives ruined by betting and gambling,” he said in a post on X.
The user further described OPay’s move as a “financial Pandora’s box,” arguing that the widespread availability of betting services through a fintech platform could have wider social and economic consequences.
Another X user, Sporting King, also condemned the development, arguing that financial platforms should encourage saving, investment and responsible money management rather than gambling.
“I just saw OPay integrated gaming centre into their system. It is deeply concerning that a financial institution entrusted with people’s money is integrating gambling into its ecosystem,” he wrote.
The criticism came after OPay introduced a game centre featuring several betting services, including Aviator and virtual games.
However, checks by NEWSEXTRA showed that the betting feature had subsequently been removed from the OPay platform.
Efforts to obtain a response from OPay’s public relations representative were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
