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East Africa’s iGaming Industry A Prime Opportunity For Growth And Expansion

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East Africa's iGaming Industry A Prime Opportunity For Growth And Expansion
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East Africa is one of the regions in Africa that is garnering the most attraction when it comes to the betting and gambling industry. We meet Alessandro Pizzolotto, STM Gaming’s CEO and Certified Partner of BtoBet in Africa what he thinks about the subject and how the region could further evolve in the short to medium term.

Is it your opinion that sports betting is more rampant in Eastern Africa? Why?

There is no doubt that the popularity of sports betting in the whole of Africa derives from the huge popularity of sports across the entire continent. The popularity of sports, especially football, has been further highlighted in recent years with the huge success of African players in major European leagues. One could make reference to Napoli’s strong Senegalese centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, Arsenal’s Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Liverpool’s Sadio Mane, amongst many others.

Nonetheless with numbers at hand, a report published by Dublin based research firm “Research and Report” clearly indicates that the iGaming industry in the Sub-Saharan region is seeing an increase in the number of millenials who make use of mobile phones to place bets. The report states that the eastern region in Africa, with Kenya and Uganda as the primary examples, is at the forefront of the continent’s gambling market.

How did weak laws and regulations offer the perfect environment for the growth of gambling in Eastern Africa?

I wouldn’t state that East African markets are afflicted by weak regulations. The M-Pesa and SMS payments conundrum that resulted in Kenya last year was in effect a demonstration that local regulations do work, and in blocking these vital payment systems to the country’s largest operators the Kenyan government was effectively cutting the operators from millions of customers.

Whilst one can argue to great length regarding the escalating enforcement measures that were introduced by the government, this does not in itself demonstrate a weak regulatory framework that would benefit black or grey markets.

Does East Africa have more nations that participate in sports betting than any other African region? 

To understand why the iGaming industry has registered stronger growth in Eastern Africa than in other regions one has to understand the payment gateways and services available, which are fundamental to the industry. East Africa is undoubtedly at the forefront of the entire continent when it comes to payment gateways, especially mobile money. It is a known fact that from a financial inclusion perspective Africa is still lagging behind more established markets, such as Europe.

Yet when it comes to East Africa, the region – with countries such as Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda – is a global leader in regards to the highest per capita registered and active mobile money accounts, and volume of mobile money. The region has the fastest growth in mobile money accounts and in each country the number of mobile money accounts surpassed the number of bank accounts.

The phenomenon of mobile money has been ongoing in the East African region since 2007. The roots of mobile money lie in Kenya with the launch of M-Pesa by Vodacom . With the lack of financial infrastructure in the region and the cost of mobile phones dropping rapidly in that same period, mobile money spread quickly through the rest of East Africa.

If one were to compare two leading markets in Africa – Kenya from the East African region and Nigeria from its Western counterpart – one would find huge discrepancies from this perspective. Whilst in Kenya 56% of the population aged over 15 years have an account with a financial institution, on the other hand 73% report having a mobile money account. At the same time the situation cannot be more different in Nigeria, with 39% of the population having an account with a financial institution and only 5.6% having a mobile money account. This obviously has a very strong impact on the iGaming industry.

Nonetheless this situation is set to change in the short to medium term, especially with the continuous expansion of companies such as MTN Africa and Airtel Africa across the whole continent. Such an expansion will pave the way for a true pan-African payment gateway facilitating money transfers, deposits and withdrawals when it comes to the regional iGaming industry.

Africa

KingMakers’ Nigerian operating business, BetKing, selects Genius Sports to power growth with in-play trading services

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KingMakers’ Nigerian operating business, BetKing, selects Genius Sports to power growth with in-play trading services
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New partnership sees KingMakers’ BetKing business benefit from Genius Sports’ leading portfolio of in-play content in Nigeria, including football, tennis and basketball

Genius Sports Limited has today announced a new agreement to supply KingMakers, one of the fastest-growing group of betting operators in Africa, with a range of in-play trading services.

The deal sees BetKing power its live betting product with ultra-fast venue content for the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, English Football League, FIBA basketball and every other major European and South American football league.

Genius Sports will also provide BetKing with its market-leading trading services which include modelled odds feeds for major football competitions.

With in-play sports betting growing rapidly across Africa, fast and accurate odds are vital to maximising revenues by increasing the availability of betting markets.

Tim Smeets, Trading Director at Kingmakers said “We’re thrilled to announce our new partnership with Genius Sports. Their trusted trading solutions, including low-latency in-play content on crucial football leagues like the Premier League, will enable us to offer market-leading betting experiences for BetKing users in Nigeria.”

Will Westcott, Head of Business Development at Genius Sports said “Every year, we continue to invest in delivering the highest-quality trading services for the African market. With the value of in-play betting growing across Africa, we’re excited to help BetKing execute its online sports betting vision in Nigeria, by providing it with the fastest, most reliable live content on the market for major sports.”

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Africa

‘Supa’ Celebration as Hacksaw Gaming Takes First Steps into South African Market with Supabets

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‘Supa’ Celebration as Hacksaw Gaming Takes First Steps into South African Market with Supabets
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After nearly a year in making, both Hacksaw Gaming and Supabets are reaping the rewards of their partnership this week! As of the 30th March 2024, Supabets’ players now have access to a  plethora of Hacksaw games at their fingertips, and their platform currently stands as the only place players can access our games in South Africa.

The South African market has been on our radar for a while now, but like all good things, this partnership took time, refinery and hard work from both parties. A relatively new market to our expanding industry, but with the potential to be one of the most lucrative we’ve seen in a while. Needless to say, we are thrilled to now be a part of it!

Household Hacksaw names such as Chaos Crew, Wanted Dead or a Wild and The Bowery Boys are now available for Supabet users, and we’re ‘supa’ excited for South African players to immerse themselves in the true Hacksaw experience for the first time ever. But we’re not stopping there. As a homage to this new partnership, we’re planning on increasing our portfolio to over 30 of our games by August, and there are even whispers of game exclusives for South Africa in the future.

Supabets, founded for the people, have been at the forefront of promoting innovative and dynamic experiences for their customers since 2008. Head of Product at Supabet, Bavu Mpama, couldn’t contain his excitement on this recent launch – “What a ride it’s been trying to make this all possible, with the help of the Hacksaw team we are now able to launch one of the best providers in the market at Supabets. It’s been incredible to see the growth of the iGaming industry in South Africa. It’s a huge moment for Supabets, our customers and the iGaming industry in South Africa. We cannot wait!”

“It’s a thrilling expansion into a new region for Hacksaw Gaming, one that I’m confident will see mutual growth of both Hacksaw and Supabets.” Marcus Cordes, CEO of Hacksaw Gaming stated that “as always, our focus remains on delivering the Hacksaw quality we’re known for. Supplying unique and innovative content  that is not only visually stunning, but provides players with inventive mechanics that they know and love us for.”

Looking towards that stunning South African horizon, we’re certain that this is just the beginning of what we can provide to this new region of Hacksaw Gaming enthusiasts.

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Africa

ESA Gaming adds to Africa presence with multi-country Betway deal

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ESA Gaming adds to Africa presence with multi-country Betway deal
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ESA Gaming, the innovative games provider, has signed a significant commercial deal with leading global online betting and gaming brand Betway, to bolster its reach across the African continent.

The agreement will see an initial tranche of top-performing content, including Mine and Crash games, go live across key targeted markets, such as Tanzania, Nigeria, Mozambique, Zambia, and Malawi.

The tie-up with the Super Group-owned brand has significantly boosted ESA Gaming’s footprint in Africa.

The continent has emerged as a key target for the provider, with its array of light-weight games proving extremely popular in markets where mobile connectivity speeds may vary wildly.

Thomas Smallwood, Chief Commercial Officer at ESA Gaming, said: “Betway is a brand with a large global presence, and we’re delighted to expand across Africa with this latest partnership.

“Our products have been immensely well received across the continent and we look forward to bringing our games to Betway’s player base.”

Laurence Michel, CEO of Betway in Africa, said: “ESA Gaming’s mobile-friendly portfolio continues to resonate well with players across the continent, and we’re very pleased to launch their top-performing titles to our customers in five of our key markets in Africa, further enhancing our offering with unique and popular content that we know our customers will enjoy the experience of playing.”

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