Before anything moves
Three things are settled before the first transfer, and settling them afterwards is where most of the cost and nearly all of the anxiety on this route comes from.
- Decide the amountNot a range — a figure. The route's cost depends on it more than on anything else: ₦5,000 loses 84.7% in the worst case and ₦100,000 loses 9.9%.
- Read the casino's cashierWhich assets it credits, on which chains, and what the minimum deposit is. Minimums stated in coin move with the coin's price.
- Check the sending account's ceilingOutbound, per day and cumulative. A tier limit stops a transfer that a fee would only have shrunk.
- Confirm the names matchWallet, exchange and casino accounts in the same name. This costs nothing now and is the usual reason a withdrawal is held later.
The route, in order
- Step 1: Bank or walletNaira leaves a bank account or a wallet balance. Transfers between Nigerian banks and wallets are cheap and often free inside the same app. This is the one step of the route that costs close to nothing. Watch for: Daily transfer limits on an unverified wallet tier are the usual obstacle, not fees.
- Step 2: The P2P spreadNaira buys a stablecoin from another person on an exchange. The exchange charges the maker and taker little or nothing; the cost is the gap between what sellers ask and what the official rate says. That gap is the single largest number on this whole route. Watch for: The spread widens when the naira moves quickly, and it is widest at night.
- Step 3: The network feeThe stablecoin moves from the exchange to the casino. A flat fee in coin, not a percentage, so it hurts small transfers and disappears on large ones. The chain chosen at withdrawal decides it, and the cheap chain is rarely the default one. Watch for: Sending on a chain the casino does not credit is the one mistake on this route that loses the whole amount rather than a percentage of it.
- Step 4: Crediting at the casinoThe casino converts the coin into a playable balance. Sites that hold balances in the coin itself charge nothing here. Sites that convert to an internal currency apply their own rate, and that rate is not the market one. Watch for: A minimum deposit stated in coin moves with the coin's price, so the naira amount that qualifies moves too.
₦50,000leaves the account
Bank or wallet−₦250₦49,750
The P2P spread−₦1,990₦47,760
The network fee−₦4,000₦43,760
Crediting at the casino−₦656₦43,104
₦43,104reaches the table · 13.8% lost on the way
₦50,000 through those four steps in the worst case. Best case: ₦48,770.
What arrives, by amount
| Sent | Reaches the table | Lost | Best case |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₦5,000 | ₦764 | 84.7% | ₦4,445 |
| ₦10,000 | ₦5,469 | 45.3% | ₦9,370 |
| ₦25,000 | ₦19,582 | 21.7% | ₦24,145 |
| ₦50,000 | ₦43,104 | 13.8% | ₦48,770 |
| ₦100,000 | ₦90,147 | 9.9% | ₦98,020 |
| ₦250,000 | ₦231,278 | 7.5% | ₦245,770 |
| ₦500,000 | ₦466,496 | 6.7% | ₦492,020 |
The highlighted row is roughly where the flat network fee stops being the main cost and the spread takes over.
The four ways it goes wrong
- Wrong chain. The only failure with no partial outcome. Read the accepted list, twice.
- A limit nobody checked. Discovered after the exchange side is already set up, which is the worst moment.
- A name mismatch. Invisible until the first withdrawal, then immovable.
- An amount decided during the process. The spread looks like a small percentage while the amount is still hypothetical, and stops looking small afterwards.
One button, the same on every pageThe ordering here is editorial: every row leads to the same place, so no position is worth selling.
Open the casinoNearby on this route
Three pages that pick up where this one stops: Reading a P2P order book, Choosing the chain, Guides.