How African Casinos Can Learn from UK Operators

Posted by Harry Kane on Tuesday, January 11, 2022

While the iGaming and remote betting markets in the UK and Europe may be incredibly mature and dominant, there’s no doubt that regions such as Africa are also reporting an exponential rise in demand for iGaming and remote betting verticals.

This trend is particularly prevalent in more developed and economically prosperous African countries such as Nigeria, which is home to a burgeoning gambling culture and an especially motivated (and noticeably youthful) playing demographic.

Make no mistake; there are approximately 60 million Nigerian citizens aged between 18 and 40 who regularly engage with sports betting markets alone in the digital age, with this number having increased markedly in line with economic expansion and technological innovation.

However, the betting market in Nigeria and similar African regions are still very immature by nature, and there’s a great deal that they can learn from their more established European rivals and especially the UK. Here are a few of the most important and influential lessons:

#1. The Creation of a Single (and Omnipotent) Regulatory Body

If we take a quick glance at the current UK iGaming market, we can see that it’s currently subject to a comprehensive review that will soon be published by the government. This could impose sweeping proposals such as a £2 online betting cap and widespread affordability checks for players, while also introducing an independent ombudsman for handling player complaints and disputes.

This highlights how markets must continually evolve in line with demand and the wider economic and social challenges, particularly if the prevalence of problem gambling or rogue traders becomes more prominent over time.

Given the burgeoning state of the Nigerian marketplace, authorities could also borrow heavily from their UK counterparts by establishing a single regulatory body. This should contribute to a transparent and stringent regulatory framework, in which operators understand their responsibilities to players and the gamblers are made aware of their own rights and requirements.

The UK established the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) as part of the 2005 Gambling Act, which sought to regulate online casino gameplay and remote betting while optimising the tax levies

generated for the Treasury department. This has since played a pivotal role in shaping the iGaming market and enabling it to enjoy exponential growth, with the sector worth in excess of £5.9 billion according to the most recent figures.

Of course, Nigeria already has its own National Lottery Regulatory Commission, which coincidentally was also launched in 2005 and came to pass as part of the National Lottery Act legislation that was finalised in the same year.

However, this has not necessarily evolved in line with growing demand and sweeping behavioural changes among players, and in this respect, more needs to be done to create a robust, transparent and completely safe marketplace that offers security to UK players.

This is particularly true in terms of holding individual operators to account for anti-money laundering failures and instances where players wager more than they can afford to lose, while simultaneously shoring up its licensing T&Cs and minimising the impact of rogue traders.

#2. Developing a Much More Diverse Range of Verticals

If you look at the expansion of the US market since the legalisation of sports betting at a federal level, we see that North American betting brands have moved decisively to enter into strategic UK companies such as William Hill.

The reason for this is simple; as it has enabled the fast-growing US market to cope effectively as it has continued to scale at an incredible pace, by borrowing directly from established technology stacks that impact on every stage of the iGaming commercial journey.

It’s not unreasonable to surmise that operators in Nigeria will follow a similar path, especially as they scale quickly to cope with growing demand and the rising number of younger players who now want to wager online or using their mobile device. This could see Nigerian betting brands join forces with UK firms to access the market more effectively, especially in terms of their value proposition and the range of verticals that they’re able to offer customers.

This rule applies across both online casino and remote betting verticals, while such partnerships will enable operators to compete aggressively for custom and deliver optimal gambling experiences to their customers.

At present, core betting markets such as the English Premier League and global horse races are widely covered in Nigeria and similar African markets, while operators regularly run enhanced odds promotions pertaining to these. However, other and more niche markets aren’t as widely covered, and this scenario is likely to change in the near-term.

Such changes should boost demand further and increase the number of active online accounts in the marketplace without necessarily compromising on security or the safety of players when they’re wagering through their chosen device.

#3. Leveraging the Rising Popularity of Mobile Betting Apps

Further inspection of both the UK and US markets also reveals that virtually all reputable casinos and sportsbooks now operate completely responsive mobile websites, which enable players to wager their hard-earned cash on the move without compromising on the library of games, verticals or markets that they’re able to access.

More recently, betting brands have looked to build on this by developing native apps for iOS and Android devices, creating an additional way of accessing content through fully integrated and downloadable software packages. This trend is even prevalent among smaller and independent casino brands, who leverage mobile gameplay to capitalise on player trends and compete more aggressive with established market players.

While many of the market leading Nigerian brands continue already offer both responsive mobile sites and native apps, this isn’t necessarily true of most new or smaller operators. So, such companies would benefit from following the template set by UK brands by improving their tech stacks and investing in the development of their mobile presence, in order to enhance the experience, they’re able to offer players across the board.

Once again, this will also translate into a more competitive and generative marketplace overall, and one in which players can access the best possible gameplay experience to suit their own preferences