Gambling business looking for new markets in Africa

BY LOU SIFA

According to a customized research led by MECN, the gambling business is expected to grow in the next years in the African market. The firm published their Online Gambling Quarterly report, which reveals the most significant trends and expectations in 2018. Many experts analyzed new data and provided information about the industry’s development over time, as well as projections for business conditions in the next 12 months. At the moment, African gambling business represents 2% of the global market and the data mainly refer to tourist gambling, for example casinos in Egypt, Morocco and South Africa.

MECN analysts considered the potential new markets and the changes in gambling regulations. Regarding the potential markets, MECN evaluated Germany, Africa, Asia and the US. The German market is likely to have the smallest potential for further growth, since their new regulations led to the closure of online casinos. Many operators decided to leave the country and to search for new markets. Meanwhile, the African gambling market was mentioned as the most promising one and many exhibitions and conferences were held to talk about new trends. South Africa introduced several regulations regarding gambling: National Gambling Amendment Bill was approved in 2007 by the Trade and Industry Committee to provide operators with license, but the process got stuck because of politics delays, so it never became a law. In 2014 there was the Remote Gambling Bill, which also was unsuccessful. But South Africa already gives online betting licenses through the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board. In Tanzania, online betting and lotteries are legal since 1999 and in 2013 the government opened to casino, too.

Concerning the regulations, many countries are preparing new laws and regulatory frameworks, especially now that GDPR is a hot topic and is changing marketing strategies of several companies. 

Some experts have reported that compliance issues could become problematic for the gambling market and that the operators have to be very careful in order to meet both governments’ and customs’ expectations. In the UK, online gambling is regulated and guaranteed by the Gambling Commission, which provide the operators with license. The Commission website contains all the data about both the casino websites with international license and their customers, which is ideal for privacy protection.

The gambling business seems to show a fast expansion, and Africa is expected to seize this opportunity for growth. We’ll see if the governments will be capable to comply with new regulations and customers’ requests.