The crowd pleasers

When it comes to gambling, the African continent is considered to be the youngest because over 60% of its population is under the age of 25. And if you are into iGaming and have been watching the trend, you may know there is a lot of speculation surrounding the African iGaming industry.

While a lot of countries and industries struggled through the pandemic, online gambling saw massive growth. Its popularity grew further when most households were under confinement last year. There is an estimated growth rate of 11.5% from the year 2020, resulting in the industry being worth $27bn by the year 2027.

Factors that contribute to the growth of the iGaming industry

Continuous growth is facilitated by the ever-increasing use of smartphones and other mobile devices, which simplify the enjoyment of online gaming anywhere in the world where there is internet connectivity. There is a forecasted increase in the number of smartphone users of about 26 million by 2023.

As a result of more people having access to adequate internet activity and owning a smartphone, it is most likely that the iGaming industry will continue to grow and become available in new countries that will benefit from a younger demographic. With most African governments focused on improving the internet infrastructure of their countries, online gaming platforms will ultimately become more accessible.

Challenges the African gambling industry faces

One of the main issues faced by betting operators in Africa is the low internet speed. This does not take away from the challenges that are still very much present for both the players and online gaming houses in Africa. Challenges like unclear gambling laws could potentially restrict the flourishing growth of the gambling industry in Africa. In many of the African countries, laws do not cover the online gambling industries and this is the main reason why some citizens and corporations do not obey the laws that are put in place.

Despite that, the majority of African countries back the gambling industry while a minority of the countries resist the gambling industry due to cultural and religious beliefs. The countries with successful gambling markets are South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania. Africa is the continent with the most potential for iGaming.

What games are most played?

Sports betting is a crowd pleaser in the African nation and when it comes to the most popular sports and leagues to bet on, European football leagues are especially popular. Around 24% of the gambling industry revenue comes from South Africa, including Hollywoodbets, offering betting on horse racing, football, cricket and rugby, which are among the most popular sports to bet on.

A look at the land-based casino industry

Due to the pandemic, this industry has suffered a huge blow as its customers were not allowed to actively bet. This in turn caused casinos to retrench some of their employees for their own survival, while others were forced to permanently close. As things are somewhat returning to normal, there is reasonable hope to expect that brick-and-mortar casinos will also recover.