Insight
COVID-19 UPDATE - AFRICA Africa Market Update
Alessandro Fried, Founder, BtoBet
Africa was perhaps one of the regions most heavily impacted by the pandemic. Not only is the local population particularly passionate about sports and follow keenly the major European leagues and competitions – among the first to be cancelled or suspended –but the prevalent dominance of the retail arm in the local betting industry due to a lower smartphone and internet penetration when compared to more mature markets, and the relatively high cost associated with mobile data has meant that the local industry has had to share a relatively higher burden due to the pandemic.
Africa: the right opportunity to accelerate shift to online play?
With live sports events that previously ran into the hundreds of daily events reduced to just a handful, the whole sportsbook vertical had to endure a significant redimension. The lack of live content translated directly to a significant loss in terms of turnover, with many operators registering as much as 70 per cent or even higher in terms of loss.
Te ongoing coronavirus pandemic has plunged the world into a global health emergency. Among the economic casualties affected by the pandemic, major sporting and entertainment events all over the world had to be cancelled, businesses were shut down, and livelihoods curtailed.
How has Africa faired during this pandemic? Surprisingly the continent seemed better prepared to combat the pandemic than other regions, with the number of active cases kept under control and not registering the same upward spike as witnessed in mainland Europe or the US. Regardless of what the reasons may be, most African countries have decisively put their populace under lockdown. Some have even imposed curfews, which have effectively led to the shut-down of almost every commercial activity.
How has the pandemic affected the gambling industry in Africa? Not only was the iGaming industry not immune to this disruptive scenario, but was one of the industries to feel the immediate impact of the pandemic, with practically all live sportsbook events grounded to a halt on a very short notice. With live sports events
P44 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA
that previously ran into the hundreds of daily events reduced to just a handful, the whole sportsbook vertical had to endure a significant redimension. Te lack of live content translated directly to a significant loss in terms of turnover, with many operators registering as much as 70 per cent or even higher in terms of loss.
Te knock-on effect that this has had on the revenue, was not only evident but also disruptive. Bookmakers, especially retailers, had to act fast and in a decisive way to adapt to the new circumstances, re-think their business model, identify alternative content to cross-sell, and make a redistribution of their revenue stream… all of this in the least-time-to- market.
And whilst medically speaking the region has fared very well, from an iGaming industry perspective
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
