EDUCATION FIRST
For Simon, the Africa findings reinforced a shift already underway at 1xBet: effective player protection must be understood and accepted, not imposed. “We focus heavily on non-intrusive tools,” he explains. “People rarely want to admit they have a problem - with gambling or anything else.”
Rather than heavy-handed interventions, 1xBet has leaned into self- assessment tools and gamified questionnaires that allow players to reflect on their behaviour in a low-pressure way. Education, however,
believes is crucial. “Tese are still emerging frameworks. Tat creates more openness to dialogue, discussion and engagement.”
By contrast, Western European regulation is often more rigid. “Europe tends to be highly structured and process-driven. Tat has clear benefits, but it can also limit conversation. In Africa, there’s an opportunity to build regulation collaboratively and embed player protection early rather than retrofitting it later.”
Collaboration, he stresses, does not mean weaker standards - it means smarter ones. Following Western Europe and Africa, Latin
Te Index shows that 75 per cent of African operators
deploy KYC checks, compared with 74 per cent in Western Europe. Tat surprised a lot of people. It directly
challenges the idea that Africa is fundamentally behind. In some core areas, operators are matching European standards without being forced to do so. SIMON WESTBURY
goes beyond product design. “One of the strongest messages from the Africa report is that education is critical - not just for players, but for regulators and governments as well. In Western Europe, player protection is embedded in regulation. In much of Africa, it’s still optional. Tat can’t be sustainable.”
Internally, the research has helped crystallise 1xBet’s approach around three pillars: welfare, education and research, with Africa underlining the urgency of education in particular. While the report identifies South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria as leading markets, Simon is careful about how they are positioned.
“I wouldn’t describe them as benchmarks in a rigid sense. Tey’re better seen as front-runners.” Each market operates within its own cultural, political and economic context. Te real challenge, he argues, is not ranking countries, but accelerating progress across the region as a whole.
“Te key question is how we make player protection a baseline expectation everywhere, not just in a handful of jurisdictions.”
Simon has previously highlighted that regulator relationships in Africa tend to be more collaborative than confrontational - a point he
Strategic Advisor, 1xBet
America is the next region to be examined through the Player Protection Index. “Te sequencing is deliberate,” Simon explains. “Western Europe represents regulatory maturity. Africa and LatAm are high-growth regions where frameworks are evolving quickly, but under very different conditions.”
Studying them comparatively allows operators, regulators and policymakers to understand which player protection measures are universal and which must be adapted locally. Ultimately, success for the Player Protection Index is not about universal agreement.
“You’re never going to convince everyone,” Simon reflects. “Tat’s unrealistic.” Instead, success is measured in application. “Are we taking the insights from these reports and embedding them into day- to-day operations? Are they influencing how products are designed, how education is delivered, and how we engage with regulators?”
Just as important for 1xBet is the broader industry impact. “If the Index helps move the conversation forward, if it raises the level of debate around player protection, then it’s doing what it’s meant to do.”
In Africa, where growth, opportunity and risk intersect so visibly, that conversation may matter more than anywhere else.
95
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182
