Why partnership is on the rise in Africa gaming industry ?

Africa the fast changing gaming industry is experiencing transition from the traditional gaming platforms.

However, Africa is a mixed continent and fragmented when it comes to the gaming industry, few years back operators offers analogue gaming platforms in Africa that are not best suitable for customers experiencing, unlike the European markets where digital gaming platforms are offered to customers and customers have a wide range of gaming options to choose from.

Moreover, operators have challenges to offer tailored gaming platforms built for the African markets, and while some of this platforms are not users friendly to suit customers experience, limited markets, limited gaming options, attending to customers queries, could take three days to resolve queries and while payments is one of the major issues affecting the industry, on winnings it could take three or four days to process payments, this are some of the challenges operators were facing in the gaming industry.

For example in Nigeria few years back winnings that is above $3000, customers will go through some rigorous process before claiming bet won.

Trust is another issues the industry were having, some of the operators could not make certain payments on jackpots winnings, as a result of this the Lagos state Lotteries Board had to reduce jackpots on winnings from 50 million naira to 10 million Naira, specifically for land-based betting operators, this move is to regulate the industry and to increase the level of trust in the gaming industry in Nigeria.

However, with ever changing customer’s behavior punters seek for more convenient gaming platforms that could offer them users friendly platforms, quick payments, competitive odds, wide range of markets, quick response to customer’s queries and the one they could trust.

This is coupled with advancement in technology and infrastructural developments and the increasing numbers of bookmakers and offshore bookmakers offering online gaming platforms to Africans. This has influenced player’s behavior in the continent and while more customers preferred placing bets from the comfort of there homes via mobile phone compare to the traditional style of placing bets in shops, kiosk, and bricks-mortar.

Furthermore, for operators to meet up with customers demands, and Africa as one of the fast growing markets they rather seek for partnership deals in areas they could improve customers experiencing through strategic partnership with stakeholders in the gaming industry that includes software providers, IT service, Fintech companies, and Telecommunication companies etc.

A very good example, recently Allbet signed a strategic partnership deal with BtoBets a software provide to provide a white label solution, an operator based in Nambia in a deal that covers both the retail and online segment BtoBets. The software company BtoBets also expanded in Mauritius and Madagascar region with a local operator Parisport in a partnership deal.

Another good example, in Tanzania Parimatch Africa signs partnership deal with Fast Track CRM that allows the bookmaker, to coordinate all aspect of player engagement from one place using real-time data.

In Nigeria, the biggest lottery company premier lotto popularly known as baba ijebu went into a partnership deal with telecom giant MTN Nigeria to help with customers experience through mobile short codes for customers to place bets via short codes and to check winnings compare to the conventional way of placing bets in Nigeria lottery.

Partnership is on the rise in Africa gaming ecosystem, it is right about time other major stakeholders take advantage of this great opportunity in Africa.

Written by Adeleye Awakan

Associate/Editor www.gbc.ng Africa’s leading digital gaming magazine. For consultant on gaming in Africa, Marketing, PR, Advertising, and Thoughtful leadership article contact: [email protected]

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