The desire for gambling in Africa is huge, and governments across the continent are beginning to realize. Sports betting is the second-largest after Casino gambling, comprising 14% of total gross gambling revenues, up from 13% in 2013. It includes fixed-odds bookmaking and pari-mutuel betting on football and other sports events. This is the only category where online betting is permitted.
Growth in gambling:
As the most advanced market in Africa, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has comprehensively researched. Another indicator that betting extract is big in Kenya is the marvellous growth companies in that industry are experiencing and the kind of investment they are attracting. For example Sportpesa website was registered in 2012 and has grown to the top 4th most visited website in Kenya behind Standard media, Nation and Jumia with a fraction marketing that Jumia spends.
The figures highlight a population that is increasingly demonstrating a propensity to gamble and it is reasonable to have positive expectations about the rest of Africa based on the company’s findings. PwC’s report recorded gross gambling revenue jumped by 57.6% in 2014, more than three times the 18.5% rise in 2013, in large part reflecting wagering associated with the FIFA World Cup held in Brazil during June and July 2014. An 18% increase in the number of operational bookmaker outlets also contributed to the 2014 increase, expect sports betting to overtake horseracing in 2017 and to account for 57% of the market in 2019, compared with 46% in 2014 and only 18% in 2010. And stated that there is still huge potential for growth across all verticals in both the land-based and online environments.
Incredible market for gaming in Kenya:
Kenya has inconceivable probable as a Gaming market. Regulation is vital to its future and companies should strongly consider it as a serious area for future investment. The increased penetration of mobile offers a few challenges but the rewards will be greater should you be successful.
Challenges for associates in Africa:
In both Kenya and South Africa, all marketing campaigns and adverts have to be approved by the relevant gambling boards if they are to appear outside of a licensed betting venue. This is a challenge for affiliates but it can also be seen as a benefit. With all marketing activities so carefully monitored, this increased barrier to entry can be an advantage in preventing an over saturated affiliate market.
The bottom line is that the hunger for sports betting is growing day by day, the punters want access to it, and the potential revenue is gigantic. But, whether supplier, operator or affiliate, don’t underestimate the importance of having local insight, experience and understanding. We have seen many big name, international businesses struggle to get the results they expected because their Gaming products were not customised to the right audience.