Peter Kesitilwe, CEO of the African iGaming Alliance (AiA), envisions that the inaugural Africa Safer Gambling Week can pave the way for increased collaboration among the continent's licensed gaming sector.
This week marked the AiA’s first-ever Africa Safer Gambling Week, uniting regulators, operators, and industry associations to address various issues tied to safer gambling practices.
Kesitilwe emphasized that a significant focus of the week was to turn discussions on safer gambling into actionable steps. "The signs have so far been very encouraging," he stated. "The initiative demonstrates that cooperation does not have to remain at the level of conference and policy discussion; it has to translate into practical action, educating players, engaging communities, protecting young people, and highlighting the dangers of illegal and unlicensed gambling."
The Africa Safer Gambling Week will occur annually, but Kesitilwe stressed that player protection should be a daily consideration. "We want Africa Safer Gambling Week to create a platform for ongoing cooperation. The campaign may run for a week, but responsible gambling must be practiced throughout the year," he added.
Each day throughout the event focused on a different aspect of player protection, including responsible gambling and the prevention of underage gambling. Kesitilwe acknowledged the continent's diversity and the varying market realities it presents.
He clarified, "While Africa is one continent, it is also hugely diverse in terms of markets with different realities across regulatory structures and social contexts. We respect those differences. At the same time, many of these risks cross borders. We do not need identical laws in every country, but we do need greater cooperation. Africa Safer Gambling Week will create a common continental platform. It’s more about cooperation, information sharing, and agreement on important principles of consumer protection."
The campaign has already managed to amass over a million online impressions, a figure that Kesitilwe believes reflects a strong interest in promoting safer gambling in Africa. "There is a real appetite for enhanced safer gambling efforts in Africa," he remarked.
Kesitilwe pinpointed underage gambling as a pressing issue, particularly given the rapid increase in mobile usage across Africa. He expressed concern over the prevalence of gambling advertisements in sports media, saying, "At a break or at half time you see 10 to 20 [gambling] adverts. It’s come to a point that oftentimes I even hear my kids singing [gambling adverts]. They’ll just keep asking, ‘But Daddy, what is this? What does this mean?’ Our position is unequivocal. Betting is an adult activity. Operators must maintain effective age verification, marketing must not target or appeal to children, and regulators, parents, schools, and communities must reinforce the same message."
Additionally, the AiA has spotlighted the illegal gambling market during Africa Safer Gambling Week. Kesitilwe argued that offshore operators pose substantial risks to player protection. "Tackling the illegal market is not just a regulatory priority, but a fundamental player protection issue. Oftentimes when you see governments increasing taxes or banning iGaming, it’s mainly because of illegal operators who don’t comply. An illegal operator may not provide age verification, responsible gambling tools, secure treatment of player funds, or effective complaints mechanism. So, illegal operators undermine licensed businesses that invest in compliance, contribute to taxes, and operate under formal oversight. We are where we are because of illegal operators. Licensed operators adhere to strict conditions they need to meet," he explained.
According to a recent study by Gaming Compliance International, about 77% of Africa’s gambling market is estimated to be offshore. Kesitilwe indicated that the real measure of success for Africa Safer Gambling Week will be whether there is a noticeable improvement in channelization by the next event. He cautioned that governments and policymakers often misinterpret the causes of problem gambling, leading to policies that harm licensed operators while encouraging illegal markets.
Looking to the future, the AiA's ambitions for Africa Safer Gambling Week extend beyond merely addressing the offshore market. Kesitilwe noted the need for a clearer understanding of problem gambling across the continent. He said, "We also, from the point of view of the Alliance, intend to do Africa-wide studies around the prevalence of problem gambling in different markets, obviously working with regulators and associations."
The AiA hopes to utilize lessons learned from this inaugural week to increase participation and establish the event as a permanent part of the African gambling calendar. "Our ambition is to expand participation each year and make the week an established feature of the African gambling calendar. Success should not be measured only by whether all countries participate in one year. It should also be measured by whether we have created a credible foundation that more can join," Kesitilwe concluded.
