In just a few years, Africa’s gaming industry has moved from an emerging opportunity to one of the most closely watched growth regions in global gaming.
Regulations are becoming more defined; a young, mobile-first audience is already active, and major operators are investing across the continent, demonstrating the scale of the opportunity available to both regional and international brands.
But as with any burgeoning market, it is one marked by complexity.
The African Gaming Forum is a dedicated one-day, invite-only gathering during SBC Summit week, created to unite regional stakeholders around the opportunities and challenges shaping the next phase of gaming growth across Africa.
In this blog, we break down everything you need to know.
What is the African Gaming Forum?
The African Gaming Forum is a highly curated gathering built around two things: candid discussion of the issues shaping African gaming and meaningful access to the people capable of influencing what happens next.
Across the afternoon, seven focused conference sessions will be complemented by four dedicated networking opportunities, giving attendees the chance to move between structured discussion and more direct, informal conversations.
Additionally, the Forum will be delivered alongside organisations embedded within the region, such as iGaming Afrika and the African iGaming Alliance (AIA), which will help support the event and shape the conversations taking place in Lisbon.
Here is a breakdown of the essentials:
- Date: Wednesday 30 September
- Location: Myriad Hotel, Lisbon
- Time: 11:30 – 19:00
- Conference sessions: 7
- Networking Opportunities: 4
Who is it for and who will be in attendance?
The African Gaming Forum will bring together key stakeholders from across the continent’s gaming ecosystem, including leading operators, regulators, industry associations, suppliers and wider stakeholders.
Importantly, the Forum is designed to represent the breadth of African gaming. Attendees will span established markets such as South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana, alongside stakeholders from developing and emerging jurisdictions across East, West, Southern, Central and North Africa.
Leading African operators & lotteries
Some of the biggest names in African gaming are already confirmed to attend, including 1xBet, Bet9ja, Betway Africa, Hollywoodbets, KingMakers, M Sport, SportyBet, SunBet and World Sports Betting.
The Forum will also welcome representatives from leading lottery organisations, including Loterie Nationale du Bénin and National Lottery Kenya.
The event will provide operators and lotteries from across the continent with the opportunity to connect with regulatory leaders, explore opportunities in emerging and established markets and build relationships with the organisations shaping the future of African gaming.
Regulators
The African Gaming Forum will also welcome representatives from regulatory organisations across multiple African markets, including:
- National Gaming Board, South Africa
- Gambling Regulatory Authority of Kenya
- Lagos Lotteries & Gaming Authority, Nigeria
- Ghana Regulatory Authority
- Gambling Board of Namibia
- Botswana Gambling Authority
- Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, South Africa
Industry associations
Leading industry associations will also be represented, bringing additional expertise on regulation, integrity and the development of sustainable gaming markets across Africa.
Confirmed organisations include the Association of South African Bookmakers, Ghana Association of Sports Betting Operators, Association of Gaming Operators Kenya, International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) and International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA).
The Big Questions Facing African Gaming
The conference programme will tackle some of the most important questions shaping the future of gaming across Africa.
Across seven sessions, regulators, operators and industry leaders will examine how established and emerging markets are evolving, where the biggest opportunities lie and what sustainable growth could look like across the continent.
- Regulator Panel: African Gaming under the microscope: Exploring how regulators and operators can collaborate on effective frameworks that balance industry growth and innovation with player protection, compliance and tackling the grey market.
- CEO Panel: Leading the Way: Scaling the Opportunity in Africa: Leading African gaming CEOs will discuss market entry, sustainable expansion, the growth of iCasino and how operators can navigate the continent’s diverse regulatory and cultural landscape.
- A new entry to the big 4: gaming in Ghana continues apace: Examining Ghana’s rapid rise as a major African gambling market and what potential regulatory changes could mean for operators and future growth.
- A whole new world: Kenya and the Gambling Control Act: Exploring how Kenya’s new Gambling Control Act could reshape one of Africa’s largest gaming markets and what operators need to know about compliance, responsible gambling and future growth.
- Regulatory uncertainty vs economic opportunity: the Nigerian question: Assessing Nigeria’s evolving regulatory landscape and how greater collaboration between state authorities, regulators and operators could unlock opportunities in Africa’s largest market.
- South Africa: Will new taxes lead to responsible growth?: Examining how potential tax changes, responsible gambling concerns and the unregulated market could influence the next phase of South Africa’s gaming industry.
- After the ban: what’s next for Ethiopian iGaming?: Exploring the impact of Ethiopia’s iGaming ban, the subsequent growth of the black market and whether a new regulatory framework could provide a route back for licensed operators.
The voices leading the discussion
The conversations will be led by people working directly within the markets being discussed, bringing together regulators responsible for shaping policy, executives operating across the continent, and association leaders.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Lungile Dukwana (CEO, National Gambling Board, South Africa)
- Bashir Are (CEO, Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority)
- Emmanuel Siisi Quainoo (Acting Commissioner, Gaming Commission of Ghana)
- John Mutua (CEO, Association of Gaming Operators Kenya)
- Ronnie Whelan (CEO, Kingmakers)
- Kobby Boateng (President, Ghana Association of Sports Betting Operators)
- Sab Jhooti (Co-founder, Bongo Bongo)
- Jason Gibson (CPO, SportPesa)
- Simon Gregory (CEO, SunBet)
- Moruntshi Kemorwale (Chief Executive Officer, Gambling Authority Botswana)
- Sean Coleman (CEO, South African Bookmakers Association)
- Peter Maina Karimi (Director General, Kenya’s Gaming Regulatory Authority)
- Jeremiah Maangi (Founder & CEO, iGaming AFRIKA)
This blend of perspectives is particularly important at a time when African markets are asking many of the same fundamental questions: how can regulation encourage growth without compromising player safety? How should markets approach grey-market activity? And how can operators expand across markets with very different regulatory, cultural and economic conditions?
By putting regulators, operators and associations into the same conversations, the Forum creates an opportunity to compare approaches across jurisdictions rather than examining each market in isolation.
Connect with regional leaders
With an invite-only audience drawn from across the African gaming ecosystem, some of the Forum’s biggest opportunities will come away from the conference stage.
Throughout the day, dedicated networking sessions will give attendees time to continue panel discussions, make introductions and speak directly with operators, regulators and association leaders working across the continent.
Networking moments include:
- 11:30 – 12:30: Welcome & Networking Lunch (Hosted by: Lungile Dukwana (CEO, National Gambling Board, South Africa) & Lois Bright (Founder, Women in Gaming, Africa))
- 14:00 – 14:30: Networking Break
- 15:40 – 16:00: Networking Break
- 17:10 – 19:00: Networking Drinks & Buffet
Putting Africa at the Heart of the Global Conversation
The African Gaming Forum is ultimately about more than discussing the continent’s potential. It is about putting the people shaping its future into the same room.
For operators, regulators, associations and other stakeholders working across Africa, the Forum provides a dedicated environment to tackle regional challenges, identify opportunities and build relationships with peers from across the continent.
With the Forum taking place during SBC Summit week, those conversations will form part of a much wider global gathering, connecting Africa’s gaming leaders with the international businesses, technologies and ideas shaping the industry’s next chapter.
