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Regulatory mapping: NSoft about Africa’s emerging markets

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Regulatory mapping: NSoft about Africa’s emerging markets
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iGaming: level up your African experience with facts and stats

 

Africa as the rising star on the iGaming market has been especially interesting when it comes to a ​real omnichannel experience​. NSoft has been interested in the African market given the fact that there is no barrier to overseas investment or operators entering the market provided they respect and adhere to the regulations as with any other jurisdiction.
In recent years, the number of countries has adopted their own regulatory framework is on the rise and regulations are seen to be of crucial importance providing benefits to all stakeholders being involved in the iGaming industry. As a result, the regulatory framework provides a safer environment to operators, suppliers, and consumers enabling progressive opportunities in every aspect of their interest.

NSoft is aware of the benefits the African market provides and this short overview is to draw a big picture of potentials and regulations that Africa offers.

Kenya – a multi-million dollar gambling business

The Kenyans are African leaders when it comes to betting. It is the most betting crazed nation where 70% of punters bet at least once a week. Even their top Google searches, 11 out of top 20, are overwhelmed with betting related keywords. People in Africa mostly bet over mobile phone or web, and that is why they have the highest number of gambling-related mobile usage in Africa. Retail shops are present, but not as in Europe and some other African countries. Kenya is the birthplace of mobile money, a money method mostly used to top-up betting accounts not only in Kenya but also in entire sub-Saharan Africa. Kenyans enjoy betting on sports, especially football, lottery-style games, and casino. Racing games are not as popular as in some other African countries.

The Kenyan gambling laws were established in 1966 with the introduction of the Betting​ Lotteries and The Gaming Act​.Kenya regulates all forms of gambling and started delivering remote gambling licenses in 2011.

Ghana – an opportunity and an example for other countries in Africa

Ghana is, in general, one of the better-developed countries in Africa, and especially when it comes to the betting industry. It is well known that the iGaming market in Ghana offers predominantly the retail-based betting experience having all of the major regional operators present. During the last 5 years, we’ve witnessed internet infrastructure development resulting in a rapid rise of internet users, ranging from 3M users in 2013 to over 10M in 2018 (29.5M population), registering 35% internet penetration. The rise of internet users affected the operators which started to switch from retail-based to web-based business segment. Currently, there are more than 30 licensed legal entities holding the sports betting license. From NSoft’s experience, punters in Ghana prefer ​sports betting​, greyhound racing, ever-popular virtual football, and draw-based games – like our Lucky 6.
ImageRegarding current regulations in force, Ghana’s Betting Industry is regulated by the Gaming Act from 2006. It regulates the most important prerequisites for the gaming and betting industry, license requirements and penalties for non-compliance with bankroll requirements. Nevertheless, it’s important to emphasize that Ghana has very good state control regulatory system. Namely, the Gaming Act prescribes establishment of Gaming Commission that provides legal solutions aimed to contribute to the legal security of Ghana’s betting industry.

Cameroon – the rising star of the betting industry

Cameroon is a country that is up and on a rising path in the betting industry. With the population of 24.5M, the potential is enormous. It is almost completely retail-based due to the lack of proper internet infrastructure. A number of operators have started offering the web channel, but the time for it to generate some significant numbers is yet to come. There are less than 10 active operators, with one or two regional operators present. The most dominant form of betting is sports betting, while virtual sports are present, but way less popular than in other African countries. This might be due to the fact that most of the retail shops are actually street vendor style shops that are cheap to set up and offer exclusively sports betting.
Gambling is legal in Cameroon, but online gambling is not specifically regulated. The current Gambling Act, written in 1989 and modified in 2004, makes no mention of online gambling. Online gambling is largely unregulated but still tolerated by the government.

Lesotho – lack of experience does not necessarily mean lack of knowledge

Lesotho is a small country and lacking development in many aspects and industries. Surprisingly, this is not the case with Lesotho’s betting industry. The betting industry is developed to the extent it easily surpasses some European countries. Sports betting, virtual games, casino games, mobile apps, retail shops – you name it, they have it. The only limitation they have is their population of 2.2M having only three active operators that are slowly reaching their maximum. The most popular form of betting are sports betting and virtual games, especially ​drawn based game Lucky 6​,which is being followed by virtual football league and lottery betting.
Regarding the regulation, Lesotho is similar to Cameroon. Gambling is legal in Lesotho. The government established its first gambling act in 1989. All regulations and supervisions of ​gambling activities are provided by the central Casino board. Online gambling is not regulated, and there are no laws or regulations being referred to online gambling under Lesotho’s Gambling Regulation Act. Licenses are issued by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning. are valid for periods stipulated on the license and are not transferable within their validity period and the Minister has the power to revoke such licenses. The governing act is overly prescriptive and tedious and may deter participation in business, especially the small scale operators.

Tanzania – taxes triggering the domino-effect of revenue cut

Tanzania, with its population of 59M, is perceived as one of the biggest potentials for the betting industry. The industry is exponentially on the rise in the past 5 years and just between 2014 and 2016 the sports betting revenue grew by 95%. The retail business was already well developed and in 2016 there were more than 2,000 shops and terminals in the country. The Tanzanian government has invested a lot in the internet infrastructure which resulted in having one of the biggest internet user bases in Africa. Similar to Ghana, the industry expanded to the web and piqued the interest from regional and global operators to move onto the market. The business was successful to providers and operators until GBT (Gaming Board of Tanzania) introduced a series of new taxes from 2016 onwards which slowed the rapid development of the industry and cut revenues to all operators. Punters in Tanzania enjoy sports betting, virtual games like horse racing​,virtual football and Lucky 6.
Betting in Tanzania is regulated by the Tanzanian Gaming Act. The Act clearly defines the gaming tax and states that without being a holder of gaming license issued under the Gaming Act, any gaming activity is prohibited.

Africa – understanding the dynamics is crucial

To sum up, Africa has been attracting substantial interest from operators keen to diversify their activities away from costly European countries. At this point, Kenya is the leader when taking in consideration the regulations, potential, and gambling related mobile usage. Ghana and Cameroon are perceived as success stories and a reference for the upcoming changes in the region. NSoft seeks for stable legal frameworks and perceives them as a safeguard for substantial investments, whilst, of course, ensuring the player’s interest.

ICE London – a step towards becoming a powerful player on African iGaming market

ICE London turned out to be a great success for NSoft​ that exhibited on 288m2 with a new booth design. We showcased novelties and received positive feedback from the market stakeholders. NSoft’s sales team has had a significant number of inquiries from African distributors confirming the positive foresight of the market.

If you missed speaking to us during ICE​ London​, contact us at [email protected] or meet us on ICE Africa, 3-4 October 2019. NSoft will be attending Betting​ on Football Conference​,19-22 March 2019, meet us in London or contact our sales team at [email protected].

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Africa

Booming Games Partners with Hollywoodbets to Launch Immersive Slots Games in South Africa

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 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.”

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Africa

SunBet Extends Online Betting Platform Contract with Bede Gaming Amid Record-Breaking Performance

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SunBet Extends Online Betting Platform Contract with Bede Gaming Amid Record-Breaking Performance
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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.”

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Africa

EveryMatrix secures largest African turnkey deal with MBet partnership

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EveryMatrix secures largest African turnkey deal with MBet partnership
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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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