The founder of Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners Chapel), Bishop David Oyedepo, has cautioned Nigerian youths against relying on sports betting as a pathway to financial success, urging them instead to embrace hard work, patience and legitimate means of building wealth.
The cleric gave the warning during a church service, in a video that has since gone viral on social media, where he expressed concern over the growing number of young Nigerians turning to betting in the hope of becoming rich overnight.
According to Oyedepo, betting offers no guaranteed route to financial prosperity and could derail the future of those who become addicted to it.
“Young people, Naija Bet is not the way to financial fortune. Stop wasting your destiny, stop wasting your destiny, stop wasting your destiny. I have never been once deceived,” he said.
“Stop! Things may be slow but it’s sure.”
The preacher encouraged young people not to become discouraged by the slow pace of success, stressing that genuine and lasting wealth is built through diligence, integrity and perseverance rather than the pursuit of quick money.
His remarks come amid growing concern over the increasing popularity of sports betting among Nigerian youths, many of whom spend significant amounts of time and money on gambling in search of life-changing winnings.
While some analysts attribute the trend to rising unemployment, inflation and economic hardship, others argue that the desire for instant wealth has discouraged many young people from pursuing entrepreneurship, vocational skills and other productive ventures capable of generating sustainable income.
Oyedepo maintained that although success achieved through honest work may take time, it remains more rewarding and enduring than wealth pursued through gambling or other shortcuts.
Advertisement