Africa’s Sports Betting Boom in the Spotlight
Author:
Megan Butler
It’s a well-known fact that sports betting companies enjoy a ripe and preferential regulatory landscape when it comes to sports betting in Africa, it’s under the spotlight once again. The rise in mobile betting apps and prevalence of brick & mortar betting shops across the continent has enabled a culture of betting to emerge, the frictionless access to these products and services has driven rapid growth in their customer count.
Mobile betting is on the rise across Africa. With access to cheaper hardware and data plans, it’s never been easier than it currently is to gamble on sports in Africa.
?Firmbee/Pixabay
As within any emerging market touched by the expansion of betting technology and products, the questions are being asked over what the material impact on society will actually be. On the one side the authorities are defending the position that liberal gambling laws allow people to act with more freedom and agency, whereas on the opposite side the researchers and psychologists infer that the easy access to gambling is causing societal issues.
More revealing though is the lack of interest in gathering primary source data on this issue. One can speculate either way that gambling is a net positive or negative to society, and indeed, across many parts of the world these investigations have been carried out with great vigor. But precluding all such investigations are an active research phase where proper research can be conducted to frame the questions against the data.
In Africa, it seems that this research is seldom undertaken. A recent study carried out by a joint task force from the United Kingdom, Ghana, and Malawi found that only 2 out of 41 governments across sub-Saharan Africa have engaged in such research. This worrying statistic suggests that there is essentially no interest from policy makers in this region to truly understand the impact of their policies on society.
Mobile Betting Apps on the Rise in Africa
Mobile betting apps have become increasingly popular in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a growing number of people turning to these apps for their gambling needs. The rise in mobile betting apps has been driven by the increasing availability of affordable smartphones and improved internet connectivity across the region.
In many African countries, traditional forms of gambling such as sports betting and lottery games have been popular for decades. However, the convenience and accessibility of mobile betting apps have made it easier for people to participate in these activities, leading to a surge in demand. This has also opened up new opportunities for local entrepreneurs, who have developed their own mobile betting apps to cater to this growing market.
As such, this positive trend for the gambling industry in the region provides a convenient and accessible way for people to engage in their favorite forms of gambling, while also creating new business opportunities and driving economic growth. As mobile technology continues to advance, we can expect to see even more innovative and exciting betting apps emerging in the region in the years to come.
Betting in Africa Facing Intense Scrutiny
Betting companies across Africa are investing heavily into the region in an attempt to win greater market share. The issue is stark in countries like Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. These are countries with high unemployment with serious economic problems, in these places sports betting is being viewed by large portions of the population as a mechanism to make ends meet.
Clearly this is not the vocational betting that sports betting service providers pitch to lawmakers when these terms are agreed to. With the incentives drastically misaligned against the well-being of the general populace, this situation has a high-risk element attached to it, where the worst outcome could potentially be the economic ruin of millions of people across the continent.
The issue is compounded by the lack of regulation across peripheral products fuelling this system. Such as, third-party lending apps that trap customers in unfavorable repayment contracts. In the end, this system is set up badly and will need to be overhauled, regulated properly, and in some cases completely reviewed until the proper evidence can be surfaced to determine whether the sports betting industry in Africa can really be net-positive for the continent.
