Africa
Nigeria’s Gambling Growth Insider
Without a doubt, when you hear about Nigeria, gambling is not the first thing that comes to your mind. Nevertheless, it appears that the country’s gambling industry is growing rapidly and it is estimated that in the next five years, Nigeria will become one of the fastest-growing African countries in terms of gambling.
Apparently, in Nigeria you can indulge on all kinds of betting, from the upcoming national lottery, through sports betting, to casino gambling, where you can play table games or you can choose between classic, video and progressive slots machines.
The multinational professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) recently published a report titled “Gambling Outlook 2013-2017” and it did not focus on Nigeria exclusively, but also analyzed gambling data from South Africa and Kenya. The report features data from various gambling options in South Africa – LMPs, sports betting, bingo, as well as the national lottery are taken into. Still, for Kenya and Nigeria, the report reveals statistics from casino gambling only.
As stated by PwC, Nigeria’s gross gambling revenues will increase by 16 per cent in the course of the next five years. What is more, Nigeria is to launch a nationwide lottery titled Quick Lotto, and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market Ayo Arise believes that the launch will generate employment and tax revenues.
Arise has collected data from various countries which have a national lottery and believes that for most countries the lottery is but a means to make the community more prosperous. In this respect, he states that Nigeria does not intend to behave differently. Arise has stated that 20 percent of the profits from the lottery are distributed to the Federal Government which uses the money for good causes, “for the advancement and progress of this nation,” says Arise.
Fortunately, as we already said, Nigeria has other betting options and people do not need to wait for the lottery to launch in order to gamble. In fact, one of the most popular means of gambling here is sports betting.
Many betting companies have benefited from the football enthusiasm all across the continent, designing and deploying betting platforms every day. Fans can stake small bets and win big amounts of money, and this strategy makes sports bets incredibly popular among locals, both young and old.
As a matter of fact sports betting has become popular during the last decade. According to a KPMG report on Gambling in Africa, about 60 million Nigerians adults (18-40 years old) are into active sports betting. The common player would spend about 3,000 Naira (nearly $15) on sports betting. Proportionately, nearly 2 billion Naira is laid out on sports betting in Nigeria every day, which turns into nearly 730 billion Naira for a year. No wonder why betting shops can be spotted on almost every corner in Lagos and each day, new betting places set up shop.
The strategy of betting a small amount of money with the chance to score something big seems to be increasingly popular among young people. A poll revealed that Nigerians bet on football games every day not only because it is a way to make quick money, but also because it distracts people from high unemployment rates.
According to 2016 data, youth unemployment rates in Nigeria increased from 25 percent in the third quarter of the year to 25.20 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016. By comparison, the numbers averaged 19.20 percent between 2014 and 2016.
Nigeria has a good casino gambling business, too. What is more, the casino industry is expected to grow and turn into one of the continent’s largest casino industries in the following years. The bad thing about casino gambling in Nigeria is the fact that the system is largely unregulated and there are not enough licensed gambling venues.
The two gambling cities in Nigeria, i.e, the cities with a legal gambling facilities are Abuja and Lagos. Lagos is the largest gambling city in the country and it has 1 gambling facility, 10 table games, as well as 106 games, slots, and even video poker machines. However, games such as roulettes and coin flipping are prohibited in Nigeria.
Despite the fact that the physical casinos in Nigeria are but three, the on-line casino industry has shown rapid growth, ever since the first on-line casino was licensed in the country in 2013. Actually, gambling was banned across the country until 2004, but then the first officially sanctioned on-line lottery was launched (incidentally, that is also the time when the country’s casinos opened, too).
The year 2013 saw the establishment of the country’s first on-line casino. Initially, the casino featured only Roulette games. The market rapidly expanded and now Nigerians can access a wide range of international and sports casinos operators. Nevertheless, the country is still very strict on the topic and allows citizens to visit approved sites only.
Experts expect the on-line gambling industry in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria to reach $37 billion this year and this has made the government to realise that the potential tax revenues from such an expansive business require proper regulation and should not be turned a blind eye on.
Nigerian authorities think that the strong regulation of the market will actually attract more people to on-line gambling sites and it will even help reduce corruption and criminal behaviour among the population.
Government has been trying to set new regulating laws and make gambling profitable for the country as early as 2014, but with little success. New licensing systems are needed, according to Lagos State Lottery Board, and FIFA’s Early Warning System believes that both operators and the government can benefit from one another, all they need to do is work hand in hand.
Africa
Booming Games Partners with Hollywoodbets to Launch Immersive Slots Games in South Africa
Booming Games proudly informs about its newest partnership with leading operator Hollywoodbets.
Booming Games is thrilled to announce this significant collaboration with Hollywoodbets, one of the largest operators in Africa. The South African online gaming market is one of the world’s most exciting and rapidly emerging regulated markets. This tier-one partnership will allow Booming Games to provide its entire portfolio of slot games, ensuring a broad and engaging selection for players. Among the top-performing titles included are Ronaldinho Spin, Burning Classics, Gold Gold Gold 5000, TNT Bonanza 2, and Cash Pig. Both companies are confident that this partnership will bring unparalleled gaming experiences to the South African market.
Solomon Godwin, Head Africa at Booming Games, said: “South Africa, a robust market on the continent, offers tremendous opportunities for Booming Games. Partnering with a top-tier operator like Hollywoodbets enhances this potential. Hollywoodbets exemplifies the tier-one client we seek to support our growth ambitions in the region, and we are thrilled to collaborate with them.”
Wayde Dorkin, Head of Product at Hollywoodbets, said: “We are excited to partner with such a progressive slots provider. We expect our customers to take well to Booming Games and are planning to launch some of their groundbreaking new content exclusively in South Africa.”
Africa
SunBet Extends Online Betting Platform Contract with Bede Gaming Amid Record-Breaking Performance
SunBet Extends Online Betting Platform Contract with Bede Gaming Amid Record-Breaking Performance
Bede Gaming has secured a further contract extension with South African online sports betting brand SunBet, the digital arm of Sun International and one of the fastest growing operators in the SA online market.
The new contract renewal comes as SunBet reports record-breaking digital growth in its H1-24 performance report, including a 72% year-over-year (YoY) growth in revenue and 72% increase in active players, driving an 89% improvement in EBITDA.
As a leading supplier of software to the igaming industry, Bede has supported the ambitions of this customer with tailored features and services to achieve SunBet’s business objectives while delivering the highest cost efficiencies.
Since the launch of the SunBet Slots offering in 2022, Bede has provided various additional optimisations, including integrating 7 new game providers to SunBet.co.za, releasing enhancements to the existing Kambi Sportsbook integration functionality, and delivering bespoke training on product features such as Bede’s powerful rules engine and bonusing suite.
This year alone, Bede has partnered with SunBet’s operations to –
- Optimise environmental infrastructure, aiming to deliver run cost efficiencies that will reduce the total cost of ownership by 30% by the end of the year.
- Develop a bespoke aggregator tool to achieve cost-effective game content customisation via a streamlined South Africa-specific solution.
- Enter into the new regulated markets of Namibia and Botswana (due to launch in 2024).
Colin Cole-Johnson, Bede Chief Executive Officer.“It’s been fantastic to see SunBet grow throughout the course of our partnership, and I’m delighted by their commitment to Bede at this crucial point in their journey. Securing another extension on this contract is testament to our dedication to our customers.”
SunBet’s partnership with Bede dates back to 2017, when digital offerings to this market were restricted to sports betting and live casino. With the change to slot content regulation in the South African market in August 2022, SunBet has expanded its online offering through Bede’s platform environment and has seen substantial growth in revenue and performance as a result.
Simon Gregory, SunBet Chief Executive Officer Bede has been a strong long-term partner for us, supporting and delivering on SunBet’s growth ambitions with quality and expertise. I’m very much looking forward to these next steps, especially now as we approach new African expansions.”
Africa
EveryMatrix secures largest African turnkey deal with MBet partnership
EveryMatrix has sealed its largest turnkey platform partnership in Africa to date and will migrate MBet from its existing software to EveryMatrix technology.
The turnkey sportsbook agreement will see EveryMatrix power MBet with its award-winning technology in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
MBet’s sports betting offering will be transformed via the high-performing, ‘always-on’ OddsMatrix digital sportsbook platform that includes access to a content catalogue of 170,000+ monthly live sportsbook events, empowering Odds Management control tools and comprehensive 11-sport pre-live and live Bet Builder.
The East African operator will also gain access to a suite of player-friendly localised products including in-house lightweight front end, USSD betting, SMS functionality, Do It Yourself manual event creation tools and a dynamic betslip engine supporting 50+ accumulator selections.
This enhanced sportsbook platform package will be further supplemented by the integration of additional EveryMatrix core turnkey products including casino productivity platform CasinoEngine, cross-product reward system BonusEngine and player management platform GamMatrix.
Migrating from 11-year-old proprietary technology to an EveryMatrix tech stack, MBet becomes the latest ambitious operator to join the rapidly expanding EveryMatrix platform network. Fresh from the recent acquisitions of FSB Technology and Fantasma Games, the industry’s fastest growing iGaming technology supplier now has more than 1,100+ staff across 15 global offices.
Established in 2013, MBet has developed into one of the leading sportsbook brands in the competitive East African region following the creation of a customer-centric proposition aided by a portfolio of local sports partnerships.
Ebbe Groes, CEO and co-founder, EveryMatrix, said: “This tier-1 African turnkey partnership sends a strong signal that EveryMatrix is rapidly becoming the ‘go-to’ platform provider for ambitious operators in the exciting Africa region.
“Africa presents a unique set of scalability challenges for platform providers and, with millions of bets processed daily across our OddsMatrix sportsbook platform, this is a region tailormade for the transformative capabilities of the EveryMatrix technology.
“I’m particularly pleased to see this deal follow our acquisition of FSB Technology. FSB has developed a strong client base across the African continent and the experience and product readiness from FSB was instrumental in EveryMatrix winning this landmark deal.
“We are pleased to welcome MBet to the EveryMatrix platform and look forward to propelling their offering into a market-leading proposition in Tanzania, DRC and beyond.”
Javier Diaz, CEO, MBet, said: “We are immensely proud of everything MBet has achieved in the last decade. Securing leading positions in Tanzania and the DRC has demonstrated the growth journey we’ve been on.
“What has become clear in the last 18 months is that to take us to the next level in our operations we need to be aligned with a leading third-party technology provider.
“After a thorough search we are confident that we have selected the right partner in EveryMatrix. The hyper growth they have achieved globally in the last several years has been inspiring and their end-to-end turnkey offering provides us with the content, tools, features and localised capabilities to differentiate our daily offering and scale MBet upwards onto a new level.”
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