Can the AGA Tackle the Issues Operators Face in Africa’s iGaming Market

The African iGaming market has grown exponentially in the last few years, and the sector is estimated to reach over $20 bn by the end of 2025. In July, the African iGaming Alliance, or AGA, was created to address the issue of resolving Africa’s unregulated iGaming market, and harmonise legislation within the continent. On September 5, the AGA announced a new Chief Executive Officer, Peter Kesitilwe to lead the movement.

Kesitilwe, who formerly worked as the CEO of the Botswana Gambling Authority, has the connections and the insights to help bring the African iGaming market forward. He has already brought up the issues regarding Africa’s lack of market standardisation, high banking fees, and more collaboration between regulators and operators. They may well be the stepping stones to tackling the issues and disharmony in the market today.

Who Are the AGA

The AGA is a trade association and was formed by iGaming operators to invest back into the African iGaming market. It was founded by Betway, 888Africa, betPawa, and SportyBet, members that are licensed in 20 countries across the continent. As major stakeholders in the industry, the AGA was an alliance to drive discussions regarding the regulation of African iGaming.

“We shouldn’t see ourselves as competitors when we’re complementing them. That’s why we are saying let’s harmonise issues of taxes, issues of responsible gambling through our alliance. Let’s speak with one voice.”

Though it is important to make a distinction here. While the parties forming the alliance are regulated platforms, AGA was not launched as a regulator itself. Spokesman Kesitilwe stated that the alliance has no motive to overrule or compete with the local and pan-African regulators.

Unifying Africa’s Gambling Legislation

A big portion of the issue is in the fragmentation of Africa’s gambling laws, which makes it tricky for operators to extend their services across the continent. An operator looking to crack the Ghanaian and South African markets would have to independently apply for licensure in both.

The regulations in different countries are not uniform, and this lengthens the process that operators must go through in order to comply with the regional laws, and obtain the necessary permissions to enter the markets.

African iGaming Legislation By Region

Of the 54 countries in Africa, 45 have gambling legislation, and only 5 countries ban gambling outright. Somalia, Libya, Mauritania, South Sudan and Sudan have a zero tolerance policy on gambling. Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Djibouti, and Guinea Bissau do not ban gambling, but there are no laws to govern it. Sports betting is more widespread than online casino gaming, and it is currently regulated, to varying extents, in 45 countries. Only 39 countries have legalized online casino gaming.

Leading the Pack – South Africa

South Africa is the most prominent player in the continent, though online casino gaming is technically illegal. The country has 35+ landbased casinos and various local online sportsbooks. Many of these also offer South African online casino games, and they are not prosecuted by the laws. The iGaming landscape, while controversial, is pretty stable. So South Africans can play slots, blackjack, roulette, and even find operators that supply ZAR Bitcoin casinos.

Kenyan and Nigerian Markets

Kenya is another important market, which has legalized online casino gaming and sports betting. In particular, the sports betting scene is hot in Kenya. But laws are change continuously, and this makes it unstable for operators. Nigeria has a similarly difficult landscape, but only because sports betting and casino gaming are governed by both a federal and state framework. This has led to conflicting legislation and made it a headache for operators.

Newer Additions and North African Countries

Then, there are countries like Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia, which are still refining their laws and enforcement of gambling. The Islamic North African countries are less interested in gambling, except for Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia. In Morocco, there are landbased venues that provide a mixture of casino games and sports betting. However, these landbased casinos must be located within hotels, and are only offered to tourists or foreign citizens.

Ghana’s iGaming Industry

However, it is not all complicated and dead-end-strained for operators. Ghana operates under the Gaming Commission of Ghana, which licenses both landbased and online operators. It currently licenses 22 betting sites and a further 13 online casinos, and represents a more convenient and structured market for operators.

Banking Fees, Standardisation and Open Communication

Payment is one of the biggest challenges for the African gaming sector. The high cost of transactions, limited cross border compatibility and long processing times severely impact the quality of the iGaming experience. Not just for players, but for operators too, as they cannot keep up and provide a chiselled product to their customer base. The AGA has pledged to lobby for lower banking fees and better financial integration to help bolster these services for all involved.

Gambling Taxation in Africa

Standardisation is key to resolving the growing number of Africans resorting to the unregulated market. Tax rates, advertising laws and responsible gaming requirements vary heavily from one country to the next. In South Africa, there is a stable provincial taxation system, whereas Kenya has built a reputation for changing its betting tax in recent years.

The idea would be to make the taxation more transparent and stable for operators to work with. The AGA also wants to set a gambling tax rate, building a bridge between operators and regulators. With standardisation, these can be achieved as the sector grows and more operators are lured to the African market.

Africa’s iGaming Market in Numbers

The African gambling market is expected to make over $20 billion in gross revenue in 2025. A figure that may well swell to over $22 billion by 2029. South Africa contributes a massive part of that figure. With Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana making up the majority of the rest. It’s safe to say, the potential tax revenue is tremendous here. Kesitilwe stated that if the governments do push out the illegal operators, they could end up losing a$2 to $5 billion a year in unpaid taxes.

Though reports put that figure closer to $2 billion, with an estimated taxable revenue of $11 billion lost to offshore operators over the next 5 years. Africa’s gambling industry are a whole is also expected to increase. As internet penetration increases, it gives more channels and opportunities for Africans to access their favourite games and bet on sports. Sports betting looks to be the more popular gambling vice for Africans.

Though there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for the market. As it continues to grow, as will the niche sportsbooks and alternative casino games, giving Africans a more diverse range of gambling games and bets to pick up.