Africa is home to around 1.3 billion people across 54 nations. It is the second-largest continent in the world.
The continent is not separate from the online world or restricted in technology. This is the wrong notion that people have about the continent and it is a general delusion.
There is a lot of potential within Africa, and betting companies have paved a way to show investors that there is a lot to be unlocked in the region and slowly, this is getting noticed.
The mobile internet connectivity demand has significantly led to the growth of the online betting industry in Africa. Thankfully, anyone can always check betting tips and strategies on our website footballbetting.org.
More than 75% of the population of Africa uses mobile phones and 66% has high-speed Internet available. This has been a major reason for the growth in mobile betting, not to forget.
Reasons for the Rise in Online Betting
A few years ago, 4G towers were set up in Africa, which started generating over 120 mobile internet webs across the region. These new connections drove the massive expansion of high-speed mobile Internet in the continent with significantly cheaper smartphones.
The authorities are still to address certain concerns in regulation of online betting in Africa before it can fully flourish. In many regions, betting laws are unclear, outdated, or not obeyed by the citizens/companies. This is changing though because governments have realised the benefit of online betting in the country.
Majority of African countries support betting unlike a lot of the remainder of the world and that is because they love sports and are crazy about being invested in them. This has been the major reason for the meteoric rise in sports betting in the region.
The largest gambling markets in Africa are Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
Let’s run you through Africa’s 3 biggest online sports betting markets.
Kenya
Most types of betting are allowed in Kenya and just like Ghana, there are lots of opportunities to attract new players in the online betting space.
The average gambling revenue growth in Kenya is approximately over $25 million. Kenya’s GDP has increased significantly due to online betting. The government collects taxes from betting operators and companies, and has benefitted from this as well.
The government also earns through license fees that it charges all betting companies along with annual renewals. This has been a key to Kenya’s growth.
As with almost all (if not all) African nations, football is the most popular sport in Kenya. The locals love to bet on European football leagues including the Premier League, La Liga and UEFA Champions League. Football makes up most of the part of all Kenyan betting on sports.
Kenyans also love their local football leagues and a lot of bets are placed on teams in the FKF Premier League as well.
Nigeria
Nigeria has the most extensive GDP in Africa, and has cross $400 billion!
This figure is majorly due to Nigeria’s population being almost twice that of any other African country as it stands at over 200 million.
The country’s betting sector is one of the largest and is essential to the West African nation.
It is second on the continent behind only South Africa.
Nigeria is the economic powerhouse of Africa and has incredible potential for online sports betting providers.
After the government lifted the gambling ban in 2004, the people welcomed the betting business more and the industry started flourishing.
According to a study, approximately 30% of Nigeria’s population bets on sports every day!
What is surprising about this, however, is that only around 60 million people between ages 18-40 actively follow sports games/matches so the betting industry has done extremely well to tap into the market across all age groups and even people who are not necessarily sports fans.
It is also estimated that people in Nigeria are betting worth approximately $5.5 million every day, which works out to a whopping $2 billion a year.
It is no secret that European football is prevalent in Nigeria and given the success of the Super Eagles stars in the top leagues across Europe, there is no surprise whatsoever.
A colossal amount of sports bets that Nigerians make are on the English Premier League and Spanish La Liga. Nigerian football legend Kanu Nwankwo, himself trusts a top sports betting company – SportyBet.com when it comes to online sports betting.
South Africa
We saved the best for the last, you could say.
South Africa is currently the most comprehensive betting market globally, with its GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue) predicted to be close to $3 billion! South Africa’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is the third-largest on the continent after Nigeria and Egypt.
GGR, also called game yield, is a key metric used by gambling and betting companies.
It reflects the difference between the amount of money players wager minus the amount that they win. It is important to note that GGR is equivalent to “sales” or “revenue” – not “profit” or “earnings”.
Gambling for horse racing and online sports betting are the only forms of gaming that involves wagering money that have been legalised in the country. Land-based casinos have been officially operating since 1994, although there are only four big casinos (typically over 180 card game tables and many slots) in South Africa.
An estimated 50% of the adult population in South Africa bets on sports regularly, with most residents betting at least once a month.
For more information on the sports betting market in Africa, visit – https://www.footballbetting.org/continuous-rise-of-sports-betting-africa/
