Gambling has been the resource of many Angolans, without a job and with the need to support themselves, who try their luck daily in betting booths or improvised stands, easily visible by those circulating in Luanda.
The promoters, mostly operators Primeira Aposta (Premier Bet) and Mota, Tavares & Barros (Elephant Bet), claim that the number of sports bets increases every day, a growth that also translates into their monthly income.
Sports bets, mostly for European championship games, have an initial value of 200 kwanzas and reach up to 5000 kwanzas, regardless of the conditions and “skills” of the bettors.
Surrounded by several gamblers, Guilherme de Assunção Benjamim, a Premier Bet agent, has his improvised stand on Rua Lueji Ankonda, in the urban district of Sambizanga, and says that the trade requires “a lot of effort and willpower”.
"Because if you don't feel like working, you won't be able to," he told Lusa, noting that in that perimeter, where he has been working for three months, the search for 'tickets' (forms) happens more at the beginning and end of the day.
The machines, a kind of mini-printer displayed on the agents' table, have the capacity to issue up to 90 'tickets', of which 80 go to the bettors. The rest are 'tickets' worth 10,000 kwanzas for bonuses, on days when there are more games and high demand.
The bonus is provided by the company as a way to stimulate players who place more bets on days of big duels, especially in European championships.
An electronic machine above the bench and a roll of paper to print the 'tickets' are the working instruments of Guilherme, 26 years old, who at the end of the day presents a report of the revenue collected with the operator.
Each machine has a limit. “This machine, for example, has a limit of 80 'tickets' with a 'voucher' (receipt) of 10,000, exactly that gives 90 'tickets'", he said, noting that his daily income varies depending on demand and number of tokens sold.
"If you take four days to issue 'tickets' and 'voucher' I believe you can find over 50,000 kwanzas in the account which is enough to at least do something", he added, considering this to be a mechanism for not being unemployed.
"At the moment it's (the work) that appeared to me and I had to put up with it, now I think it's not right to sit down", concluded Guilherme de Assunção Benjamim.
At the bench of this Premier Bet agent, whose green color renews the hope of those who come there to try their fortune, the young Nelson Mandela, 23 years old, says that with sports betting you “always win something, depending on luck”.
“I have already won many times, it is worth betting, right here what counts is luck, because there are many people who are also winning and playing”, he told Lusa.
When there are more games, especially on weekends, there are more bets and from these come the income of the agents, as Mateus Paulo said, four years in the activity, in another day of customer service.
Inside a kiosk, an iron structure built for the purpose, Mateus Paulo, agent of the Elephant Bet company, made it known that the bets work very well and the day-to-day tends to be better for both sides, for the agent and punters.
On Estrada Direita de Cacuaco, just after Luanda's Central District, Mateus, 34 years old and dedicated to issuing and selling tokens for four years, revealed that his daily income varies between 40,000 kwanzas and 100,000 kwanzas.
“The maximum limit is 100,000 kwanzas / day, and at the end of the month the total income depends on the daily rate, the work is profitable”, he said.
The type of bets, the list of teams and the dates of the respective football matches, the quality of the teams and the odds of having a winning chip guide the conversations of bettors present at betting sites.
Frederico António, self-employed, whose luck has already knocked on his door four times, with earnings ranging from 13,000 kwanzas to 120,000 kwanzas, does not dispense with opportunities to put his luck to the test.
“Yes, one more day of betting and let's see where luck goes, I've won four times and it's worth betting”, he said, after seeing his form printed by agent Mateus Paulo.
“This is practically a subject, where you have to be inside the game system and you also have to know the teams, but others who don't know the teams also win and that's why it's called luck, it's betting to have a chance of winning. win”, added the gambler.
The Gaming Supervision Institute (ISJ) announced, at the end of last January, that 26 entities are authorized to operate in the country in three gaming segments, namely games of chance, social games (more explored in the sports betting component) and online games.
The entity, supervised by the Ministry of Finance, collected around AOA 5.8 billion in the third quarter of 2022, collections led by social games, which represent an increase of 185 percent compared to the same period of 2021, as reported by Portuguese.
