What's hindering the sports betting takeoff in Africa?

While Africa could become a pioneer for sports betting as most countries have regulated land-based sports betting, there is still a lot of work to be done with regard to online.

Africa is the second-largest continent in the world with a population of 1.2 billion people, yet the gaming industry has not progressed to all corners of the continent because a large number of the population are forbidden from taking part in gambling activities because of religious and cultural reasons. 

Given that the continent is largely Muslim in culture and religion, this forbids all aspects of gambling.

For instance, Uganda has strict regulatory laws towards betting and all forms of gambling. However, in some countries, gambling is legalised with land-based casinos in some of their major cities for punters to place bets on.

In South Africa, the Gambling Act was enacted in 1965 and was fully legalised in the mid-1990s when the government took a stand to stop the spread of illegal betting in the country. Sports betting started off with horse racing bets, and as the betting industry began to thrive, more activities were introduced prompting the creation of licensed casinos and lotto.

According to EplayAfrica.com, “the practice of betting has always existed in South Africa, based above all on bets on horse racing. Although gambling was tolerated for several years, from 1600 onwards it was not possible to bet using real money.”

The laws on gambling in Egypt are very liberal, with about 17 land-based casinos in the country and 14 out of them situated in Cairo, it is a welcoming market for both local and foreign punters. However, part of the laws on gambling in Egypt hinders punters from using the national currency to place wagers but foreign currencies such as the pounds or dollars were permissible.

Although regulations on gambling in Kenya are not yet clear on online casinos and punters can safely carry out betting activities on foreign sports bet platforms. However, the country has begun regulating several forms of gambling and granting out licenses.

A major obstacle that affects the majority of countries in Africa is the notion of tax, and it potentially increasing in the future as regulation comes with taxation. 

Overall, Africa is a large and diverse continent with counties having different levels of taxes, payment methods, language, licensing practice, mobile accessibility, culture and religion. 

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