The SBC Digital Summit Africa Virtual Conference and Exhibition recently took place over the 6th and 7th of October. Expert speakers at the event were asked which country holds the greatest potential for online betting and gambling brands and Nigeria came out on top.
The convention focused on investigating the future of this industry on the continent and featured a host of senior executives with vast experience in working with and for a range of operators and suppliers across Africa.
More Details on the Survey
Before the Digital Summit Africa seminar kicked off, SBC asked attendees to weigh in on which African country they felt had the most to offer potential online operators. Nigeria took first place, with 31% of the vote, just ahead of South Africa, who came in with 28%. This suggests that interested parties will be able to take advantage of significant growth in these two markets, which stand as the continent’s best regulated.
Ghana and Kenya garnered 12% of the vote each and other countries who did well in the ballot include Côte d’Ivoire, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.
How the Summit Unfolded
The future of various nations’ betting and gambling markets were examined on the first morning of the congress. Yakubu, the Nigerian Football legend and brand ambassador for Interwetten, gave the opening interview and then various sessions took place. These included talks on Challenges of West Africa, Opportunities in Eastern Africa, and Tales from South Africa.
Jeff Halloran, the Managing Director of Sahara Games, Rostislav Kishenkov Head of Melbet’s African Region, and MD of BetBonanza Adekunle Adenjiji were among the speakers. They joined Gibet Chief Executive Officer Ibukun Okeowo, Tyrone Dobbin, MD of Sportingbet South Africa and Hollywoodbets Business Partner Simon Munsamy. All shared their experience in the industry so far and their ideas for what’s coming next.
Later on in the first day sessions discussing the future of the Lottery and online casino verticals in the African market commenced alongside expert panels. These discussed which marketing strategies have been most effective thus far and how to tackle the challenge of creating reliable payment systems.
Among the specialists weighing in here were Parimatch International Chief Marketing Officer Dmitry Belianin, Tunde Aremu, the Konfambet CEO, and Candice Moodley, Finance Manager for Gbets Online. Sean Coleman, the CEO of the South African Bookmaker’s Association, Dan Phillips, Nel Advisory CEO, and Youssef Kaado, CEO of Lottomania Nigeria also made an appearance.
The second day of the convention aimed at ways to find the right content for each market. Sessions around Football betting, virtual sports, and esports took place and the list of panellists once more read like a Who’s Who of the industry.
LPB CEO Neil Wilkie joined Jimmy Keneth Masaoe, Chairman of the Tanzania Sports Betting Association, and John Gordon, CEO of Incentive Games. Kwecy Hayford, Ghana eSports Association President and CEO of Ludique Works Douglas Ogeto attended as well.
Further panels were convened to discuss the implementation of effectual Know Your Customer checks, the execution of methods to tackle problem gambling, the changing profile of African players, and what the future looks like for retail sportsbooks.
Tayo Atoloye, Country Manager for Marathonbet Nigeria joined Betland Gaming Chairman Dotun Ajegbile, and Director of World Sports Betting Hilton Assan to pool insights. Kwadwo Amaning-Kwarteng, GM for Betyetu and Robin Bennet, Head of Department for the Regulatory Compliance Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board also weighed in.
Alongside these conference events, SBC Digital Summit Africa also featured an interactional product display area. This where the industry’s foremost suppliers were able to showcase their innovations, all tailored for African markets. Networking roundtables that made it possible for delegates to meet and exchange ideas and information were also on the agenda.
Pre-Event Predictions 100% Correct
Nel Advisory’s Phillips had only good things to say about the summit in the days leading up to it. He spoke of the industry bursting with great people, serious innovation, and a willingness to get things done. His forecast that this conference was not to be missed turned out to be exactly that, providing as it did a space for those already working in the online gambling industry and those looking to join it to connect.
And Amaning-Kwarteng agreed, saying that this summit was the perfect way for everyone involved in this ever-growing market to get up-to-date and informed about the changes it is experiencing. He called the conference a game-changer, which is precisely what it turned out to be.
