GAMING FOR AFRICA
Baccarat Popularity Grows in Africa with Massive Prize Tournaments
Sun International’s recent Black Opal Baccarat Tournament has skyrocketed the popularity of the traditional table-game of Baccarat with its multi-million rand prize money. Immensely popular in Asia, baccarat is beginning to take hold in South Africa on the back of its accessibility and vibrant social gameplay, driven by high-profile tournaments by Sun International. The culmination of this recent surge in interest
took place when a patron fought her way past 59 other contestants to earn the title of ‘2023 Black Opal Champion’ and take home the R1.5-million grand prize in the finale of Sun International’s nationwide gaming extravaganza that took place last week at Carnival City. A further R1-million in cash and prizes was given away on the day to take the total finale prize money up to R2.5 million and mark Black Opal as one of the richest gaming tournaments in the country. “It’s incredibly exciting to host the finale of a group-wide tournament and present Sun
Aviatrix Takes Off in Africa with
Betconnections
Kiverly LTD, the creators of Aviatrix Crash Game, and BetConnections have reached an important agreement for the games created by Kiverly to be distributed throughout Latin America and Africa by BetConnections. Aviatrix is a new Crash style game where players compete against each other using their own plane a set of features and mechanics that take gamification, multiplayer and loyalty to the next level. The popular crash game rewards its users
up to 10,000 times the amount of their bet. Aviatrix allows players to build their own planes and participate in fantastic tournaments, earning extra money. Its creators have truly taken Crash games to the next level, creating a self-sufficient and constantly evolving environment. As BetConnections continues its significant progress in becoming one of the most prominent companies in the industry.
International as a unified brand. Carnival City is a uniquely themed casino and the finale gives us the opportunity to showcase its magic. We’re known as the home of baccarat and the game enjoys a strong following here,” said Carnival City General Manager Annemie Turk. Punters had fought tooth and nail over 10
weeks of white-hot action at Sun International casinos around South Africa and via the group’s
SunBet online betting platform to lay claim to a seat at the finale. The opportunity to participate in a gaming extravaganza like Black Opal is a hallmark of Sun International’s Sun MVG loyalty programme, among a host of other exclusive offers and benefits. During the three-table heats held throughout the afternoon, finalists were urged to press their luck in a bid to earn more chips than their rivals and earn a coveted spot at the final table. The gameplay was intense as bettors made their picks on a day punctuated by air-punches, groans, and fierce debate. “These tournaments are all about fun,
camaraderie, and recognising the value our customers add to the group. Our next big tournament will be the roulette-focused Black Pearl at Sibaya Casino in Durban. We certainly want to meet our customers’ high expectations and continue to deliver gaming of the highest standard,” said Maartin Olckers, Sun International’s Gaming Product Manager.
Ground-breaking Study Shows Dramatic
The International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), All-In Diversity Project (AIDP), Entain, Flutter, and Stats Perform today launched a ground-breaking study on women’s sports and women in sports betting, “Breaking Barriers: Assessing Women’s Sports, Betting, and Integrity Challenges.” The study, conducted by the German Sport
University Cologne, and launched at IGaming Business Live! in Amsterdam, analyses the economic development of five women’s sports: soccer, tennis, basketball, cricket, and volleyball. For the very first time it analyses the size and characteristics of the women’s sports betting market and examines the potential vulnerability of women’s sports to match-fixing. The study confirms that the dramatic increase in women’s sport has been accompanied by a similar growth in betting on women’s sport. Soccer is leading the way in terms of the number of people betting and placing bets on women’s sport, with an annual market growth rate of approximately 20% since 2020. This is followed by tennis, basketball, cricket, with growth rates of over 10% during the period 2017-2022. It also analyses the particular characteristics of female bettors. Over the last few years the percentage of female bettors in women’s sports has consistently risen across all five sports analyzed, with annual growth rates of up to 10%, while the total number of women betting on women’s soccer has more
than doubled. The total volume of bets placed on women’s sports has grown more among women than men, highlighting potential untapped opportunities. Grainne Hurst, Group Director of Corporate
Affairs at Entain stated: “Entain is delighted to fund and support the publication of today’s study, which is an important step in increasing our understanding of developing trends within women’s sport. We are proud to already support aspiring female athletes through our multi-year partnership with SportsAid and our Pitching In initiative and we will continue to work with organisations to promote fairness and integrity in all sports competitions.” Additionally, a key next step is to increase the
data available and conduct further research and analysis on women’s sports and betting. This will help deepen the understanding of the match- fixing dynamics in women’s sports and will allow to develop approaches to sports integrity which are tailored to the particular circumstances of women’s sports.
AUGUST 2023 27
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