ls Africa Technologically Advanced Enough For A Thriving Online Gambling
Industry?
Gambling is one of the oldest pastimes in the world enjoyed by tens of millions of avid players throughout the centuries. The past two decades of gambling though have seen more advancement than the past dozen or so centuries combined.
For a country with the infrastructure to support online gambling, the tax revenues and economic boosts can be phenomenal. In this article we ask the question: is Africa ready to embrace online gambling?
What Infrastructure Is Needed To Support Online Gambling?
To support a thriving online gambling industry a country needs to cover the following four bases: Logistics: To gamble online players need to be able to get online in the first place, so decent internet coverage is key to a thriving industry. In the UK and most parts of mainland
In addition to this around 80% of all adults in Europe own smartphones with access to 4G Networks. Connectivity is no issue for Europeans, meaning that they have almost unfettered access to a range of online gambling options at any given time.
Legislation: Online gambling will naturally thrive in a country in which it is completely
legalised. That’s not to say that people don’t gamble online in countries where the act is
forbidden by law, but when this does happen all economic benefits of the industry are lost.
Regulation: It isn’t simply a matter of legalising online gambling and leaving the industry to
its own devices. For a country to make the most of the online sector, they must have
regulations in place to police the industry and divert subsequent tax revenues to the relevant
areas.
Selection: In countries where gambling thrives, it does so because players enjoy
themselves when they login to play. For example, in the UK, the quality of the games keeps
players coming back for more. For an online casino to build a great reputation in the UK,
they must continue to add to their selection of high-quality games. 888 online casino is a
winner of many awards and has one of the best reputations within the industry, when you
login, you’ll be met with 16 different variations of excellent online roulette games.
A structured and robust regulatory framework is required to make the most of the
economic boosts that the online gambling industry can provide
How Africa Fares
Logistics: In 2018 the number of broadband connections in Africa surpassed 400 million,
which was a substantial increase on the figures from 2010. Despite that, internet coverage
on the continent as a whole is only 25%.
In terms of smartphones total 3G and 4G coverage on the continent stands at around 70%,
diminishes the population’s connectivity capabilities.
Legislation: More than any other continent on the planet, Africa has the most extreme
attitudes to gambling on a country-by-country basis. In Somalia for example all forms of
breaking the law.
Even in countries where gambling is legal there is often confusion about online gambling as
legislation is often outdated and makes no mention of the internet. When it comes to
legislation, it certainly feels as though many African nations are missing a trick by not
updated their laws.
Regulation: Legislation is key to getting online gambling off the ground, but regulation is
what allows the industry to thrive, in Africa that is sorely missing. In the UK for example, the
online gambling industry is regulated to the extent that every company offering their services to British gamblers must be licenced by the Gambling Commission and pay UK taxes.
This is sadly not the case in most African countries which opens the door to foreign
companies, who take money out of the country rather than putting it back in through taxes.
In addition to this, poor regulation often means that African countries miss out on one of the
best economic advantages of the online gambling industry – an increase in domestic jobs.
Which African Countries Are Geared Up For Online Gambling?
South Africa and Kenya are perhaps the two most well-set African countries when it comes to online
gambling. In South Africa, whilst the law still prohibits online wagering, internet coverage
and smartphone usage is certainly capable of facilitating a thriving online gaming industry.
In addition to this there is a growing movement of politicians and lobbyists who are keen to
legalise online gambling in South Africa. If and when this happens, the country will be able
to start with a clean slate and perhaps following the regulatory customs of the UK and
Europe to better maximise the economic boosts of online gambling.
Kenya on the other hand is the yard stick of online gambling in Africa, with all forms
legalised and regulated. Sports betting, in particular Premier League betting is particularly
popular in the country and accounts for the majority of all gambling revenues.
Kenya also has the largest amount of smartphone users of any country in Africa, allowing
players easy access to their favourite gambling games. Whilst politicians have made efforts
to regulate the online gambling industry in Kenya, unfortunately a large amount of money
still leaves the country via bets on foreign-owned sites.
With time though, more homegrown online gambling companies will begin to pop-up in the
country which will hopefully lead to a dramatic increase in jobs and tax revenues.
When Will Africa Be Ready?
Logistically it is fairly easy to imagine a time when Africa will be equipped to deal with a
thriving online gambling industry. Wider internet coverage and increased smartphone usage are all that is needed to bring remote gambling to the masses.
However, it is considerably tougher to predict a time when a majority of countries will
implement widespread legalisation and systems of regulation. This will take time and most
worryingly, a level of political cohesion that is so rarely seen across the continent.