Africa’s developing sports business creates more opportunities

In the last five years, Africa’s sports industry growth’s underlying potential has best captured numerous industry spheres, and the gambling industry is no exception. It has created a window of opportunities for Africa’s sports betting industry, making the industry-first choice for foreign investors in recent years.

The gambling sphere has been quick to tap into the abundance of opportunities the region posses when it comes to the massive followers of sports, especially football. While the recent highlight of the sports business by the continent sports federations in recent years was the NBA’s expansion across Africa, culminating in the 2019 announcement of the launch of the African Basketball league (BAL). Since 2003, the NBA has steadily increased its presence in Africa first with the program Basketball without borders, its primary development and community outreach program, and the 2017 establishment of the NBA Africa Academy in Senegal, eventually expanding into commercial areas of interest.

In 2016, the league reached a multiyear deal with Econet Media to broadcast over 500 NBA and WNBA games each season, and in 2015, 2017, and 2018 played an All-Star Africa games in South Africa. As the NBA’s first professional league owned and operated outside the United States, the 12-team BAL acknowledges that Africa’s sports market and local talent can drive needed growth for the association. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said that the league is committed to using basketball as an economic engine to create new opportunities in sports, media, and technology across Africa.

Therefore, the event attract millions of viewers during its first inauguration and with the continent middle-class estimated to reach 1.1bn with 690 million smartphones in sub-Saharan Africa by 2050 there will be many eyeballs to watch future games at home and fill today’s inbuilt, or underused stadiums this of course will create an avenue for the popularization of the league in Africa and the approach propel the gambling industry as the vast chunk of football followers made sports betting business viable in Africa same is expected to see basketball fanbase increase in the region and looking at the Africa youth population that perceive betting as a form of entertainment and outside the context of the formal economy definitely the projected fanbase to increase with help of technology in the basketball sphere will of course have a positive impact for the gaming and gambling industry and for the industry to tap into this opportunities of the expected widespread of the said basketball competition.

Even though football remains the read deal in Africa as basketball is creating a local fanbase, football remains the overall sport on the continent that has seen the Africa youth population embraced the sports betting sphere as a quick way of making money from the formal economy sector. Thus, hundreds of local premier league teams play in national leagues with league champions competing for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup. However, despite local clubs, European football remains hugely followed, but still earlier this year, UEFA partnered with CAF on areas there could develop the African leagues, enhance the organization structure and economic sustainability; this, of course, will build a local fanbase for African leagues that as diminished since the emergence of European football competitions.

The partnership deal will see UEFA support professionalize local football, club development, competitive model, valorization of football financial sustainability, and the organization of the league’s competitions within parameters of excellence. While Chinese TV broadcaster Star-Times announced, it acquired the rights to English FA Cup in sub-Saharan Africa and multi-Choice Africa (DStv) to televised CAF competition and in 2018 Rwanda announced a controversial ₤30m deal with Arsenal to boost local tourism and strengthen the global brand of Rwanda.

African influence in European and American sports market will continue to increase as these markets seek to tap into Africa’s growing middle-class buying power, putting the sports business proliferation interest by investors into account the gambling industry will be one of the most significant benefits of the growth of sports business as African’s love for sports is undeniable same as the establishment of betting companies will continue to increase year on year.

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