[imagesource: Aidan Howe / Unsplash]

“No one can doubt the impact that COVID-19 has had on the global gambling industry. Markets all around the world suffer both because of the pandemic and the measures taken against it. But some were hit harder than others. Africa’s sports betting and land-based casino markets definitely belong in this category.”

Those are the words of Casino Guru’s Social & Community Manager Daniel Dolejsi. When we heard the news that in some parts of Africa gambling revenue fell by as much as 99%, we knew that Africa’s gambling industry was in deep trouble. And so we asked Daniel to share his insights on the current situation and offer an expert’s forecast on what is to come.

“Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve been paying close attention to how different casino markets react to Coronavirus and the precautions taken against it. And we’ve seen the same scenario play out over and over. Brick and mortar betting shops and casinos just weren’t able to cope with the restrictions placed on them.”

Some argue that Africa’s past experiences with pandemics like Ebola, SARS, and the avian flu made it better prepared to face COVID-19’s threat. The strict precautions saved many human lives, but their restrictive nature caused many businesses to close their doors. It seems that governments were well aware of the potential negative impacts, as supported by governmental statements, like South Africa’s official PR release.

“Africa’s gambling industry is almost exclusively land-based, which causes it to clash with the preventative COVID measures. A considerable part of the casino industry’s revenue comes from foreign tourists. But travel bans enforced against high-risk countries like the US, the UK, Germany, and Spain completely cut this revenue stream off. The rest of the land-based industry’s income was killed by bans on public gatherings, which forced nearly every gambling venue to close its doors.

“The betting scene dodged that particular bullet. At least in South Africa, betting is the only available form of legal online gambling. Unfortunately, this hasn’t helped much. Football matches, horse races, and all other sports events were cancelled due to COVID, so punters had nothing to bet on. As a direct consequence, dedicated players and punters moved to a market that can offer them the thrills they desire.”

Earlier in the year, the South African government released a statement, pleading with gamblers to not visit illegal gambling venues. Governmental officials were worried that players might ignore the lockdown, gather in these venues, and spread the infection. But their concerns were unfounded. Players realised that they do not need to leave the comfort of their homes to enjoy their favourite games. They went online.

“The online casino industry is booming. We’ve seen online casinos double their player bases and multiply their revenues at unprecedented levels. The situation in Africa is no different. Most of Africa has no licensing authority and no regulations that would explicitly allow or prohibit online gambling, so it is essentially a grey market.”

“Betting shops, which had the advantage of already running online platforms, used this to their advantage and started to set up online casinos. The plan was simple. Cut down on losses and recapture the lost customer base. Suffice to say, it worked. Online poker, slots, roulette, and e-sport betting has become wildly popular. What’s more, the number of online players has remained stable even after the restrictions started to lift.”

According to available research, more than 1/4 (estimated at 30%) of all African gamblers used to gamble online before the COVID pandemic. Statistics after COVID’s first wave are not currently available. However, it can be assumed to a degree of certainty, that they are much higher now than they used to be.

“I think it’s safe to say that online casinos are here to stay in Africa. Local governments will now have to face the elephant in the room and address the issue of online gambling. From what I can see, they have two options open to them. One is to set up an African licensing authority, regulate their online casino market, and enjoy the associated gambling tax revenue. The other is to ban all online gambling outright, though it rarely works. I simply just don’t think that ignoring the issue at hand is a viable strategy.”

Governments have been so far silent on whether or not they plan to legalize online gambling. But if Daniel’s forecast is true and Africa wishes to keep up with the rest of the world, the push towards a regulated e-gaming market is bound to come sooner than later.