INSIGHT ALGERIA EGYPT MOROCCO TUNISIA l l l
Northern Exposure North Africa Focus
North Africa is a region that is
often overlooked when it comes to an analysis of the market potential, with the perception that it remains a closed shop with little to no room for expansion in the long-term. To a certain degree this is true, especially in light of a lack of the hoped for progress since the Arab Spring. However, a closer look at some of markets shows that there has been a number of landmark deals struck.
In Tunisia, for example, an expansion of the lottery is already underway after Flutter Entertainment-owned operator Sisal won the tender for the management of gaming by state monopoly holder Promosport in May. A similar pattern is emerging in Morocco with La Marocaine des Jeux et des Sports (MDJS) announcing that it would launch an international tender to find a new operating partner.
Naturally though for a region encompassing so many diverse economies and cultures the gambling offer is extremely varied. In some jurisdictions such as Egypt, which has some of the best casinos in the world, entrance is prohibited for locals for religious reasons. Meanwhile, in Algeria lotteries have experienced a sharp decline in popularity, online gambling is banned and the ban is enforced via an Internet censorship system - in theory at least.
To understand better how the gambling regulatory landscape has changed one must first take into account the Arab Spring and its aftermath. It’s been over 10 years since protests led to the deposal of political figures who had ruled for
decades with an iron fist. Tunisian dictator Ben Ali, who had been in power since 1987, was finally deposed in 2011. Dissent then spread to Egypt which had been ruled by ruled by Hosni Mubarak since 1981 and Libya, where Gaddafi had been in command since as far back 1969. Mass protests led also to the toppling of the al-Bashir regime that had ruled since 1989 in the Sudan. In Algeria, the population forced Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a dictator who had been in power for two decades, to step down.
While the revolutions were sparked by different incidents the causes were comparable: economic hardship and corrupt local authorities. However, since then has that much really changed? According to many experts, unfortunately not - and many promises have yet to be fulfilled. Corrupt leaders sometimes even worse than their predecessors have failed to deliver reforms while institutions corrupted for decades have proven too weak to support a transition to democracy. In addition, state hold over economies has not provided enough room to foreign investors and the private sector to flourish.
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P23
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