1xBet: Reasons for gambling key to African player protection strategies

Localisation is one of iGaming’s biggest buzzwords and has been throughout this decade as the industry has become more regulated, more online and more global. Bonuses, customer support, payment methods all have to be tailored for the local audience. 

But what about player protection? 

There are plenty of safer gambling strategies and tools that operators can deploy, but it’s rare that they are spoken about regionally. Deposit limits, time limits and curfews might well work in one region, but not in another. 

This is something that 1xBet is exploring through the hire of Simon Westbury as a strategic advisor. Westbury and 1xBet have commissioned region-specific player protection research to learn more about what drives safer gambling strategies for operators all around the world. 

As part two of the International Player Safety Index focusing on Africa launches, SBC News sat down with Westbury to chat about what works best in different African markets on player safety.

Look at the motivators

One nugget of information that immediately stood out in the report, in Westbury’s view, was the motivators for gambling across Africa. 

In a stat that would certainly raise eyebrows in Europe, one of the primary motivators for gambling in Africa is for financial gain. 

Westbury noted: “The main point to me is that in the Western European report, it was quite clear that gaming or gambling was viewed as a social interaction, a pastime, whereas in Africa, gambling is seen more as an element of financial gain. Seven out of 10 operators in Africa mentioned this as a barrier to player protection, and that’s where we really need to engage with the education piece.”

1xBet’s strategic advisor has long been a proponent of education and dialogue when it comes to player protection and this stat in particular highlights the need for further work on education across African markets. 

He raised a concern over virtual sports in Africa, where many of the results are predetermined. 

“How can you offer in-game betting on virtual sports when the result is predetermined when the event is created. Is that a fair bet?” he asked.

“Offering in-game betting on virtual sports when the result is predetermined at the moment of creation has been a challenge faced by the vertical for some time.”

Another key difference between African and European markets is the prevalence of retail betting. While the retail sector still has a huge presence in many European markets, across Africa it is still the heartbeat of the industry as mobile and internet accessibility continues to rise. 

Those two cultural differences alone highlight the need for localisation in player protection, but we still need to go further. Treating Africa as one homogenous region is not sufficient, considering some of the cultural, ethnic, economic and regulatory disparity across the vast continent. 

“The regulatory environment is that compliance and player protection seems to be left to the operator, rather than it being ingrained in the regulation,” Westbury said. “Ghana, Cameroon and Cote D’Ivoire have that aspect, and Mozambique is making some steps in that direction, but I think the big challenge is to start including player protection as part of the regulatory environment and framework. 

“There is multifaceted regulation. You look at Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa that are pushing forward, and then you’re looking at other countries like Benin and Democratic Republic of Congo that aren’t as advanced in their regulation.”

Regulation must be consistent

Readers of part one of the IPSI will be aware of Westbury’s call for the Three Cs – communication, consistency and clarity. Africa is a case in point of a region that would benefit from more clarity and consistency in regulation to help operators have clearer player protection requirements that work for players but also create a fair and competitive environment.

Without those three Cs, the result is the fourth – confusion. 

As Westbury added: “You have to look at the pressures on all operators. An interesting fact from the report I found was that 30% of African operators give big win advice to players at the point of winning. 

In the Western European report, 43% wanted more consistency. It’s now 56% in Africa looking for more consistency in regulation. That’s interesting because Africa is an evolving, fast paced market. 

“Operators are really looking to engage with regulators and governments to form the basis of a safe environment, because they’re facing challenges. The report said that 25-30% of revenue in some countries is coming from the offshore environment.”

Africa is made up of 54 nations with varying degrees of stability, legal status and regulation of gambling, which puts operators in a tricky spot.

It’s a massive ecosystem for us to manage, but as part of that process, we’re always trying to educate the player and let the player understand that this is a social entertainment aspect and not a way that you should be trying to change your life,” Westbury noted.

Bringing the report to life

While readers can download part two of the IPSI right now, there will also be a digital webinar taking place on February 5.

Breaking down the research and asking whether progress on regulation in key African markets has kept pace with changing player habits and technology, Westbury will moderate the session which also features: 

• Nnanna Ewuzie, Business Development Manager – Nigeria, 1xBet
• Fisayo Oke, Founder, Gamble Alert
• Simon Burrell, Co-Founder, Bragr

Previewing the session and his moderation slot, Westbury noted: “The challenge is to make sure that the conversation is focused on the challenges – that’s education. How you can understand retail betting in a way of providing a safe environment, because a lot of that’s cash or mobile betting, and then that brings challenges to the operators. 

“I think we’re going to look at the gap of technology and how it can be used more effectively, then also looking at how we can understand the discussion of player protection becoming a must-have rather than a nice to have within the regulatory frameworks that exist.”