Let’s Discuss how igaming works in Africa. Africa is now becoming the new bride in town when it comes to online Sports gaming but the sudden attitude change toward casinos is gaining unprecedented attention. Sports brands are now focusing on casino online games. More people are now signing up for the online game. Among these are countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa.
The recent survey conducted online and some conversations with the big betting brand are beginning to explain that they can attest to this fact. It is of valuable importance to note that the recent conversion is a tag to the huge attention shift from sports betting especially football games because there is a lot to win from casino games.
Moreso, judging from the last decade’s record of online casino, it is obvious that casino is not talked about because a lot of people just did not find them interesting reason been that Casino has low publicity from the Sportsbook but the sudden emergence of it now was due to more overwhelming campaign that the sportsbooks are doing to raise the awareness for Online casino.
Taxes
However, the countries in Africa where the casino is gaining significant online presence are highly tax controlled and many of these sports bookies find this a way of making sure that the more they push for casinos the more they make more money. The tax net is becoming widen with the introduction of Online casinos and I believe this upward trajectory will continue for a long time.
These are the basic reason why most of these localized sports betting companies are not aggressively promoting Online Casinos example is Bet9ja. Localized sports bet company prioritized their physical betting shop more than online, countries like Nigeria and Ghana for example had more betting shops than online presence some years back. For now, it is different because a lot of people now prefer to bet online which makes it pretty much easy for the sports bookies to promote their casinos too.
The Tax for Sports betting in Nigeria, for example, is a bit complicated because you will need to register with the Federal government and if you want to have a physical office you will need to register with the State Government which brings about some type of double taxation. I figured some sports bookies associations regulating this sportsbook in this country are in court to challenge this double taxation.
Technically, if you want to operate sportbet in Nigeria mainly online, then, you will need to only register with the Federal Government if you want to own a physical office however, you will have to register again in the state in you which to operate.
Nigeria with a population of over 200 million, which is why most bookies want to operate in the country, with their main focus in Lagos. Lagos State alone which is the commercial hub of Nigeria and the former capital city has over 20 million in population. It is a complex situation but regardless of all this, Nigeria still records the highest number of sports bookies across Africa with over 60 registered betting companies both State and Federal.
Regulations
Regulations is a very key role in Africa’s emerging market why because most Brands are not doing enough advertising to sensitize the populace to the danger of betting for those under 18 years old. Now, we are beginning to experience some NGOs and some other social-cultural organizations including betting regulators trying to not normalize the abuse of betting among teenagers. Consequently, the prevalence of poverty and the get-rich-quick syndrome is making a lot of young people go into betting. The good news is, there is a conscious effort geared toward making betting forbidden for younger ones. If this conscious effort can continue to gain the needed momentum, then in a few years to come there will be more awareness of the danger of betting with underage.
At the moment, to be honest, the African market is free-for-all because politics plays a major role in decision-making. Most interested parties are politicians who could use sportsbooks as a means of money laundering. Yes, corruption is still a very huge stigma in Africa, though some countries like South Africa and Ghana are consciously fighting it. In Nigeria, the fight against corruption is significantly low because most people do not pay significant attention to the problem but prefer to take advantage of the gains, indirectly killing the system.
Customer Experience
In most cases, however, we need to discuss the experience of customers with the sports betting company. Let’s take for example Nigeria, a lot of sports bookies have a very simple interface for registration, in less than 2 minutes with good internet, you can start betting on their platform. The main problem is usually when you have to withdraw your funds that you will have to fill in a lot more information and this can be frustrating.
Documentation filling is still not what Nigerians are used to due to the nonchalant attitude of the government but it is not the same in South Africa because they are already used to documentation. In Ghana, for example, the lack of trust from the bookies makes them not want to go through the stress of filling in more information at the point of withdrawal. Beautifully, all these challenges are improving with more awareness about how things are done globally.
Product Delivery
The same product works differently in different markets depending on the behavioral pattern of the customer. Take for example in Nigeria now that online casino is gaining some presence, the same can’t be replicated in countries like Kenya or Tanzania. Why because what works in Nigeria might not work with people from that region. The behavior of customers toward casino betting should first be studied because it makes no logical sense to introduce a product that will not sell. After all, that will be counterproductive in the long run.
In Nigeria and Ghana, for example, localization is key meaning that people resonate more with the local product than foreign ones. In most African countries, the product is sold more when it is localized rather than making it foreign because when it comes local, it gives the locals more sense of belonging. This is one of the reasons why foreign products don’t sell well like local products. It has been proven that local products sell more than foreign products. Once it is local, sales increase, and foreign sales drop. It is important as a sports betting company trying to go into the African market, to prepare to work locally otherwise you won’t be able to operate for profit.
Data Protection
Bear in mind that most African countries are now upgrading to global standard practice. Leading in this standard global practice is South Africa and followed by Ghana and Nigeria. Every customer drops their information to be sure this is safe with the betting company but also, the betting company usually finds a way to identify underage bettors but this is done only at the point of withdrawal. KYC is done only at the point of withdrawal and the data protection policy is getting better in most African countries.
Conclusion
Sports igaming in Africa, a new emergence of Online Casinos is now the new wave in town. A lot of people are now having more awareness and they are beginning to make more money with luck in the sports betting game. The article has touched on some important information to note within the African space. It is a free-for-all and lessons can be learned earlier before you get your hands burnt as a new bookies trying to set up in the Africa market. Best bookies around the world looking toward Africa can start with Nigeria because of the population but the conversion rate is poor with more money while South Africa is a choice destination if you are looking at a more mature betting industry. Ghana is indeed an emerging market and casino is gaining a significant presence Online. For sure Nigeria with its massive population and semi-literate bettors can be a good return on investment if properly planned.
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