Africa
East Africa’s iGaming Industry A Prime Opportunity For Growth And Expansion

East Africa is one of the regions in Africa that is garnering the most attraction when it comes to the betting and gambling industry. We meet Alessandro Pizzolotto, STM Gaming’s CEO and Certified Partner of BtoBet in Africa what he thinks about the subject and how the region could further evolve in the short to medium term.
Is it your opinion that sports betting is more rampant in Eastern Africa? Why?
There is no doubt that the popularity of sports betting in the whole of Africa derives from the huge popularity of sports across the entire continent. The popularity of sports, especially football, has been further highlighted in recent years with the huge success of African players in major European leagues. One could make reference to Napoli’s strong Senegalese centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, Arsenal’s Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Liverpool’s Sadio Mane, amongst many others.
Nonetheless with numbers at hand, a report published by Dublin based research firm “Research and Report” clearly indicates that the iGaming industry in the Sub-Saharan region is seeing an increase in the number of millenials who make use of mobile phones to place bets. The report states that the eastern region in Africa, with Kenya and Uganda as the primary examples, is at the forefront of the continent’s gambling market.
How did weak laws and regulations offer the perfect environment for the growth of gambling in Eastern Africa?
I wouldn’t state that East African markets are afflicted by weak regulations. The M-Pesa and SMS payments conundrum that resulted in Kenya last year was in effect a demonstration that local regulations do work, and in blocking these vital payment systems to the country’s largest operators the Kenyan government was effectively cutting the operators from millions of customers.
Whilst one can argue to great length regarding the escalating enforcement measures that were introduced by the government, this does not in itself demonstrate a weak regulatory framework that would benefit black or grey markets.
Does East Africa have more nations that participate in sports betting than any other African region?
To understand why the iGaming industry has registered stronger growth in Eastern Africa than in other regions one has to understand the payment gateways and services available, which are fundamental to the industry. East Africa is undoubtedly at the forefront of the entire continent when it comes to payment gateways, especially mobile money. It is a known fact that from a financial inclusion perspective Africa is still lagging behind more established markets, such as Europe.
Yet when it comes to East Africa, the region – with countries such as Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda – is a global leader in regards to the highest per capita registered and active mobile money accounts, and volume of mobile money. The region has the fastest growth in mobile money accounts and in each country the number of mobile money accounts surpassed the number of bank accounts.
The phenomenon of mobile money has been ongoing in the East African region since 2007. The roots of mobile money lie in Kenya with the launch of M-Pesa by Vodacom . With the lack of financial infrastructure in the region and the cost of mobile phones dropping rapidly in that same period, mobile money spread quickly through the rest of East Africa.
If one were to compare two leading markets in Africa – Kenya from the East African region and Nigeria from its Western counterpart – one would find huge discrepancies from this perspective. Whilst in Kenya 56% of the population aged over 15 years have an account with a financial institution, on the other hand 73% report having a mobile money account. At the same time the situation cannot be more different in Nigeria, with 39% of the population having an account with a financial institution and only 5.6% having a mobile money account. This obviously has a very strong impact on the iGaming industry.
Nonetheless this situation is set to change in the short to medium term, especially with the continuous expansion of companies such as MTN Africa and Airtel Africa across the whole continent. Such an expansion will pave the way for a true pan-African payment gateway facilitating money transfers, deposits and withdrawals when it comes to the regional iGaming industry.
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Africa
BetKing Delivers Healthcare Services and Nutrition Support to Underserved Nigerian Communities

BetKing has delivered healthcare services, nutrition support, and maternal aid to underserved communities in Lagos, Osun, Abia and Bayelsa states.
BetKing said in a statement that its empowerment, which ran from May 17 to June 17 under the banner “Month of Good,” marked the conclusion of its 2025 corporate social responsibility campaign. The firm said it deployed mobile clinics offering free medical consultations, screenings and treatment to residents in remote areas.
Chief Executive Officer of BetKing, Gossy Ukanwoke, said the company’s CSR efforts were rooted in social impact, not just business goals.
Ukanwoke said: “At BetKing, our impact goes beyond the business. We are committed to serving our communities and empowering those who need it most. The ‘Month of Good’ reflects our values, providing real help, creating access, and improving lives.”
The firm said its maternal health focus was a highlight of the campaign. BetKing said it provided prenatal care, nutrition packages, hygiene kits and essential medications to over 500 pregnant women at the Iga Idungaran Primary Health Centre, Adeniji, Lagos Island and similar centres in other participating states.
It noted that the outreach also featured malaria testing, eye screenings, blood pressure checks and health education sessions. BetKing added that its staff worked alongside healthcare professionals and local agents to administer free medications and care.
BetKing noted that it conducted a large-scale food and clothing drive to complement the health interventions. The company’s employees distributed food packs to thousands of families and shared pre-owned clothing with vulnerable individuals.
The post BetKing Delivers Healthcare Services and Nutrition Support to Underserved Nigerian Communities appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Africa
SA Rugby Renews its Partnership with Betway

SA Rugby has announced that it has renewed its partnership with leading global online betting and gaming brand, Betway, for a further four years, with the sponsorship extended to include not only the Springbok men and women’s teams, but also the Blitzboks and Springbok Women’s Sevens sides.
The partnership, which has been in existence since 2021, will see Betway’s logo displayed on the back of the shorts of the four teams in what promises to be an exciting year for the men and women in green and gold, beginning with the Springboks taking on the Barbarians in Cape Town on Saturday, 28 June.
SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said: “As we’ve seen over the last four years, this partnership with Betway enabled us to work together in bringing our passionate fans even closer to the game.
“We are excited to extend our partnership with Betway as this will yet again stretch beyond the four white lines of a rugby field. Betway have brought some exciting initiatives to the rugby landscape, such as the Betway Next Phase, an exciting three-year initiative that helped develop, upskill and empower coaches in women’s rugby.
“Without sponsors, sport would struggle and we’re fortunate that we have a partner such as Betway that is passionate about growing rugby.”
Betway Africa’s Head of Marketing, Mark Rowles, said: “The Springboks are a team that have brought so much joy to South Africa and we as Betway are delighted to be behind the Boks for another four years, our journey has seen so much success for the team and that feel good feeling has certainly rubbed off on the Rainbow Nation.
“We are looking forward to playing a role in the success of both the women’s and sevens teams over the next four-year period and will be investing in the growth and accessibility of the women’s game.
“We will be launching our official Springbok campaign in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for our billboards across South Africa, where Springbok fans have continuously shown their support by being fully behind the Boks. We would also like to take this opportunity to wish the Springbok Women’s squad all the best for the upcoming World Cup in England that kicks off in August.”
The post SA Rugby Renews its Partnership with Betway appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Africa
pawaTech strengthens its integrity commitment with membership of the International Betting Integrity Association

Partnership with the leading global monitoring body reinforces pawaTech’s efforts to combat betting corruption
pawaTech, a leading sportsbook provider in Africa that licenses the betPawa brand, which is available in 17 African countries, has joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA). The partnership will see betting integrity data from pawaTech’s sportsbook trading operations contribute to IBIA’s global monitoring and alert network, which tracks over $300 billion in annual betting turnover across more than 140 brands. The move reinforces pawaTech’s commitment to responsible betting, fraud prevention and safeguarding sports betting integrity across Africa.
Juri Sidorenko, CEO of pawaTech said: “Joining IBIA reflects our commitment to fair play, integrity and safer betting. We are proud to support a trusted ecosystem that makes betting more secure, transparent and player-friendly across Africa.”
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “We are thrilled to welcome pawaTech to IBIA. The company’s unique African operational footprint and technology infrastructure bring valuable regional market knowledge and monitoring coverage to our association. This partnership further strengthens our global network and supports our shared goal of protecting the integrity of sport and regulated betting markets.”
IBIA is a not-for-profit body that has no competing conflicts with the delivery of commercial services to other sectors and was established by operators, for operators, to protect regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. IBIA’s global monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets. Through the IBIA global monitoring network it is possible to track transactional activities linked to individual customer accounts; this data is only available to IBIA and its members.
The post pawaTech strengthens its integrity commitment with membership of the International Betting Integrity Association appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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