How Ethiopia Mobile Money Launch Could Transform the Gambling Market

The State-run telecommunications agency Ethio has announced the launch of its mobile money service called TeleBirr. It will be available to Ethio Telecom subscribers from May this month; for now, it is a monopoly market for Ethio.

Although this move by the government to allow mobile money is perhaps a significant and a pretty remarkable achievement for different sectors of the economy and businesses. Also, this new development of mobile money service that will be accessible to the people is pivotal to the country’s gambling market growth in the long term and creating the opportunity to accelerate mobile online gambling and betting in the country. However, as many African economies evolve, mobile device penetration has become the payment vehicle of first resort for many. Therefore, the mobile money appeal and quick adoption and the rapid adoption and proliferation usage in many underserved groups provide the necessity in the African space, bridging the gap for unbanked people.

Its runaway success in the East Africa region, and been evident, and the service has significantly aided mobile online betting and gambling. Players can make payments in the comfort of their homes using their favourite betting platforms. It is evident that the launch in Ethiopia, which is long overdue, will propel the gambling market and compete with other notable countries in Africa. As Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria as Ethiopia is Africa’s second-most populous country and has one of the youthful population in Africa is an incredible asset and untapped resources for possible growth; 41 per cent is under 15. More than 28 per cent are aged 15 to 29 in the country. The country has all potentials for investors and entrepreneurs to consider. It can be a force to reckon with in Africa’s gambling industry. At the same time, the recent new Telecom operating license issued to compete with Ethio Telecom has been awarded to Kenya’s Safaricom and Japan’s Sumitomo to work in the country.

Therefore, a move will end the state’s monopoly over its stunted telecom sector, which has impaired the economy and business over the years due to poor internet connections. However, the two newly licensed telecom operators will change the market landscape for the businesses craving to offer online services. However, according to the government officials, the two new operators won’t be permitted to provide mobile money services. Ethio, by contrast, has the backing of the country’s Council of Ministers to provide digital financial services as the sole operators for mobile money. For over one year, the process has been going with a proposal to the National Bank Ethiopia, which later approved the application. According to local media, the report claims Ethio Telecom decided to launch the new service soon to help boost customer loyalty before new operators begin operation. The TeleBirr mobile money service will allow the customers to send and receive and store money using their mobile phones.

The customer will make payments for goods, services, and utility bills, receive money from people in the Diaspora, access loans, and link a bank account to a TeleBirr wallet. Even though this move is probably long overdue, the deliberate restriction of mobile money services to one player is unlikely to be viewed favourably by some groups. Indeed, the World Bank has warned that the lack of competition in the provision of digital financial services is not suitable for the market. By contrast, a monopoly position in mobile money services may enhance and aid operators in the gambling sphere.

In essence, the most common form of gambling is legal, from casinos to sports betting and lottery. It has enormous economic potentials and a massive youthful population; mobile money access has been an incredible challenge for bookmakers in the country over the years. As mentioned in the article, this new development positioned the gambling market on the right pact in the years to come. As we have seen in recent years, the Ethiopian market has been an attractive market for some notable brands in Africa. Betking and Betika have established their operations in the market.

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