How a shift towards casino is reshaping regulated iGaming in Africa

For a long time, African markets have been defined by sports betting and, to a certain extent, crash games. But over the last 12 months a new trend has emerged and online casino gaming is on the rise across African markets. This trend is best observed in South Africa, where a booming new market is emerging with online casino been a driving force of growth.

A glance through Super Group’s latest quarterly report shows a 37% GGR increase for online casino on an annual basis. To explore this trend further, iGaming Expert chatted to Matt Cowan, Commercial Director, EveryMatrix, Africa to outline what is causing this shift and how operators can take advantage of changing user habits.

What is causing the shift among South African players as they move from predominantly sports bettors to increasingly casino players?

The rapid growth is being generated from new players entering via casino as well as existing sports players now also playing casino. The addressable market has essentially doubled; casino games are stickier and there is no halftime or off-season so it’s not surprising casino is fast becoming king.

Does this highlight how important it is for operators to effectively cross-sell, particularly during major sporting events e.g. this summer’s World Cup?

“Yes absolutely. Casino is ‘always on’. While this summer’s Football World Cup is one of the most effective acquisition events an operator could ask for, recreational players may only place bets during the tournament, or while games are being played and then churn.”

Matt Cowan, Commercial Director Africa

Casino allows operators to retain these players well after the tournament has ended. It also acts as a mechanism to keep players on-site before, during and after games.”

Building gamified challenges across both verticals, encouraging players to try casino is key. EngageSuite is the best available product on the market right now to help operators do this in the most effective way possible.

Is this something you think could be replicated in other African markets, where sports and crash games tend to be the most popular?

It’s already happening in key markets such as Kenya or Tanzania. Sports and Crash still rule the roost, but as the player base matures and starts to look for richer, more dynamic game experiences, the natural progression will be to give slots a go. It’s only a matter of time.

What sort of opportunities does this increased demand for slots create for both operators and games providers, such as SlotMatrix?

The faster operators can get to market with a wide variety of games the better. The casino space moves fast, but EveryMatrix moves faster. Managing multiple commercial agreements, vendor relationships and integrations can be a nightmare for operators.

Not only does our casino management platform and aggregation offering solve these headaches, but the functionality also drastically improves efficiency. They are a one-stop-shop to the widest selection of real-money casino content in the world. When you factor in our localised knowledge and world-class after sales support, we are the only choice when it comes to casino aggregation.

Are there certain types of content that resonate best with South African players?

Simple slots mechanics still lead the way. Although South Africa is the most developed slots market on the continent, it remains immature in comparative global terms with players wanting to know how much they can win and how they go about that. Volatility is also a principal factor when players decide on which games resonate with them best, with a good proportion of South African players preferring high volatility and high max win game variations, such as Pragmatic’s Super Scatter games, or No Limit City’s 50000x max win titles, such as Duck Hunters.

How is EveryMatrix positioned to take advantage of this increased demand for casino games?

With our team of experts having decades of experience in the gaming space, EveryMatrix understands what operators need to do to maximise their profitability in the casino space. Further to the expertise we offer, our product stable reinforces our position as the leading casino aggregator in Africa.

Through our casino management platform and extensive content library, we provide operators with access to the world’s largest portfolio of games, including exclusive content not available elsewhere. Our EngageSuite product also ensures operators are retaining players in highly competitive territories.

Using bonus campaigns, mini tournaments, gamification and CRM tools, we offer solutions to some of the most common pain points operators have.

The original version of this article was published by iGaming Expert.