Here’s some key takeaways from day one of the SBC Digital Summit Africa.

State and national regulatory committees in Nigeria need to find the synergy to synchronise together, says GiBet Ceo, Ibukun Okeowo.

The panel, titled ‘The challenges of West Africa’, called for National and State regulators to harmonise their approaches, with Okeowo believing that, in Nigeria, the commissions are not in sync.

Okeowo explained that, in the retail market, having to pay for both state and national lottery licences could deter new entrants. Although, he noted that for online, purchasing a single licence enables market-wide operation.  

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Meanwhile, the ‘Opportunities in East Africa’ told delegates that European operators must customise their offering to the African market, with local partnership for individual jurisdictions being critical to success. 

Sahara Games Managing Director, Jeff Halloran, emphasised that operators simply cannot survive without a local partnership, something he explained can ‘make or break’ an operator’s presence in any one jurisdiction. 

Halloran reiterated the need for operators to gain a thorough understanding of each market across the continent, urging them to not treat all 54 countries as a single opportunity.

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Experts in the ‘Payments in Africa‘ panel outlined that betting operators should prepare for new compliance demands, with African markets set to be disrupted by changing consumer habits and technological innovation.

CEO of Gaming4Africa.com, Mark Tipping, explained that consumers, governments, banks and businesses are aware of mobile money limitations. He believes Africa is now ready for another shift in payment transactions.  

Tipping underlined that although mobile money remains an ‘effective but blunt transactional tool’, they have limited African consumers, thus constraining digital business and stifling localised integrations.