What is the Future of Africa’s Online Sports Betting?

What is the Future of Africa’s Online Sports Betting?
What is the Future of Africa’s Online Sports Betting? Image source: Pixabay

The African online sports betting industry is growing fast. From the available statistical evidence, the continent has the potential of becoming the next gambling frontier. Even if gambling isn’t a new concept in the continent, more and more people are adopting online casinos and sportsbooks today.

Nowadays, a lot of gamblers in Africa prefer to bet through an online sportsbook than visiting a land-based bookmaker or casino because it’s more convenient and less time-consuming. Further, as the technologies are becoming more accessible African bettors prefer to make the most of online sports betting websites that help them make informed betting decisions and win more. African bettors can use Bettingmetrics for getting valuable tips on all sorts of sports, benefit from super-fast odds comparisons, and make the most of the latest bookmaker bonuses and free bets. The platform allows them to analyse the latest betting trends, odds, news, tips and make the most of the betting data available online.

Africa, as a whole, positively embraces change as seen from how their gambling laws are advancing. As such, more gambling companies are also beginning to realise the improvements made. Do you want to find out what the future of the African online sports betting market holds? Then read more below.

Growth of Online Sports Betting in Africa

The majority of Africans (numbering to millions) are enthusiastic about sports, particularly football. Therefore, sporting events not only act as an integral part of entertainment but also a chance to win money while gambling on these sports.

Through luck and the right strategies, the majority of gamblers, earn a lot of extra money from betting on sports. Because of that, more Africans are willing to spend huge sums of money on sports betting, therefore, attracting foreign sportsbook companies who are now venturing into the African market. But, what are some of the factors behind the boom of online sports betting in the African continent?

  • Less Stringent Gambling Laws

European and North American continents have more strict yet established gambling laws. On the flip side, the majority of African jurisdictions have less stringent measures and laws to govern their gambling sectors. As such, most offshore sportsbook companies are quickly diversifying into the African continent.

Kenya and South Africa are the only countries with properly regulated betting industries. Also, it’s illegal to practice betting on sports or gambling as a whole in some Muslim-majority nations.

  • A Deep Affection for Sports

If you want to meet people with a diversified passion for sports, then welcome to Africa! Africans in general love sports with football and athletics taking the largest chunk of fan-base. As such, millions of Africans are fans of European, Spanish, French, and Italian football leagues without forgetting popular international competitions like the World Cup, Olympics, among others.

Also, Rugby, cricket, boxing, horse racing, tennis, and basketball sporting events enjoy a great deal of support in countries like South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. It is because of this great African love for sports that qualify the continent’s online gambling industry among the most profitable worldwide.

  • The Rise of Mobile Money and Other Money Options

For over a decade, mobile money has progressively developed in Africa. In Kenya, mobile money services like M-Pesa and Airtel money are available from leading network providers, Safaricom and Airtel Kenya. These companies are in collaboration with both local and foreign gambling operators to provide mobile money payment options.

Additionally, other sportsbook companies also allow some payment options like Skrill, MasterCard, PayPal, Neteller, and Paysafecard.

  • High Rates of Unemployment

According to statistics, at least 200 million Africans are between the ages of 15 to 24 years. Sadly, the majority of this population is unemployed. Even worse, some countries have unemployment rates of up to 25% of their total populations, a rate that could potentially rise by 2055.

Because of the unfortunate state of joblessness, the majority of African youth take up sports betting as a means of earning money. Others even use Bettingmetrics to enable them to analyse, calculate, and monitor their betting activities easily. So, it generates income for the youth as they exercise their passion for sports events.

  • The Innovation of Betting through Mobile

The use of smartphones is a concept that’s widely adopted globally. Research has it that at least 40% of Africans have access to mobile devices with most of them owning smartphones. Most of the established bookies have made it easy for their customers to access their sites through mobile devices. So, Africans not only enjoy betting through the desktop but also mobile devices on the go.

Even better, some online bookmakers enable live stream for some sports while offering various features that support multi-bets.

Top Online Betting Countries in Africa

Some African countries like Kenya and Uganda are coming up as real betting hotspots. Their gambling markets are well-recognized and could soon compete with both the European and North American markets. Because of that, legislators from these countries are beginning to implement regulations that could help the industry not to spiral out of proportions.

Already, Kenya has a law that prohibits gambling and sportsbook companies from advertising their products through mainstream media between 6 am to 10 pm E.A.T. Also, celebrities are not allowed to endorse gambling to the public. In Uganda, the government is looking into closing the country’s sports betting industry from foreign operators.

South Africa is also among Africa’s upcoming gambling hotspots with its market estimated to reach about $2 billion in 2020. Also, some Islam-speaking countries are now slowly adopting online sports betting with some companies offering their gambling services in Arabic.

The Future of Online Sports Betting in Africa

Various top sportsbook companies are looking to open their doors to the African market. However, a lot is going on around the continent currently. In Uganda, for instance, the government is working towards banning foreign sports betting companies and nationalizing the online betting sector. Their neighbour, Kenya is working towards imposing mitigating measures to curb the rise of gambling addiction.

For now, the African betting on the sports scene is quite unpredictable. But, taking into account the available statistical research, its online gambling sector is expected to grow further in the long run. Right now, many countries are grappling to regulate their online sports betting markets with many countries’ regulations limiting the number of allowed betting options.

Most of the gambling options that are looking to venture into the African market are assessing to ensure that they invest in nations with fair regulations. Also, they are trying to work towards delivering sports betting products that are available for African consumers. Therefore, only time will tell what tomorrow has in store. Nonetheless, it seems like things are off to a promising direction which will translate to a better and brighter future for Africa’s online sports betting scene.