GAMING IN AFRICA
Understanding the nuances of African gaming markets with
BC.GAME
Using South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya as key examples,
BC.GAME CEO Kar Kheng Giam explains how appreciating African countries as individual markets is key to growth there.
Kenya. While iGaming has never been fully regulated there, online sports betting has been fully legal and regulated since the implementation of the National Gambling Act 7 of 2004.
Nigeria has had online sports betting since the launch of Nairabet in 2009 and Kenya is regulated by the Gaming Bill of 2019, which dramatically updated the country’s gambling policies.
hile Africa has often been seen as an emerging market, the reality in 2026 is somewhat different. Young populations, advanced mobile technology and an increasing frequency of digital payments are all contributing to growth across the region. Rather than seeing the opportunity in simply entering Africa, the real opportunity lies in understanding the differences between African markets. Not every market within Africa should be seen in the same light. Marketing strategies that work well in South Africa may not have the same impact that they do in Nigeria and Kenya, for example. Rather than taking a view of developing a specific casino game or engine that you believe will work for the entire African market, a more localised offering could be more likely to be successful.
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The key to growth in the region today is about working out which of the territories within the content work best for you individually as a business. Do players in one particular country show more of an appetite for crash games than traditional slot games? Maybe you are a crypto supplier and only certain markets have demonstrated more of a preference for that payment method? When this kind of information is established, you can then look towards localised partnerships, products and payment methods that are more likely to deliver long-term growth.
A REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE To put that into perspective, when it comes to online sports betting, South Africa is a much more mature market than Nigeria and
However, Nigeria and Kenya may work better for your business for other reasons. Nigeria is a market where the opportunities are expected to increase exponentially in the coming years. The online gambling market is projected to have generated $1.55 billion for 2025, with user numbers expected to reach 20.8 million by 2030, according to Statista. In that particular market, there were 179.6 million mobile subscriptions in December 2025, according to Nigerian Communications Commission data. With that in mind, launching an online casino product in Nigeria makes perfect sense. There is also a particularly strong interest in football – specifically English football – in that part of the world, which in turn has led to a thriving online sports betting market too. However, in Kenya, the market stands out due to its mobile payments ecosystem. Primarily due to the growth of mobile payment brand M-Pesa, Kenya’s mobile money penetration rate is thought to have hit 91% in 2025, with 47.7 million active subscriptions, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya. This in turn filters down to the online gambling market and makes it more conducive to operators and suppliers who know what players are looking for there.
PUTTING THIS INTO ACTION The focus on localisation and partnerships is something we have kept in mind at BC. GAME. We have concentrated on building a presence that reflects the realities of each market, working with local stakeholders and investing in initiatives that resonate culturally, such as our sponsorship of Kwara United FC.
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Going forward, Africa will provide long- term success for the entrants who understand the nuances of each individual country. What is important to remember though is that Africa is today’s market – not the next frontier – and those that focus on localisation in advanced markets will likely take a strong foothold there.
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