Online Sports Betting Woos African Nations
6th January 2014
Several African nations have come round to the idea that Internet gambling is here to stay and rather than fight it, they have decided to embrace it.
While there is still fierce opposition to the legalization of online gambling and sports betting in particular in many countries around the world, it is becoming increasing clear that it is far more sensible on so many levels to allow it to find its own level in society. Taking a leaf our of the book of countries such as the UK which have legislated and regulated the industry with great success, some forward thinking African nations have decided to follow suit.
If You Can't Beat 'em, Join 'em!
The "can't beat 'em, join 'em" approach has many obvious benefits for countries that have so far dropped their hard line attitude and instead allow it to flourish under the watchful sys of legislators and lawmen. The UK has seen a huge financial benefit in its legalisation of the industry and this has more than a little bearing on the decision of some of Africa's leading countries.
It has not gone unnoticed that the Internet is a vehicle for financial growth in all areas of commerce, but few industries can boast such a high turnover of wealth as Internet gambling. There is also the motivator that people are going to gamble online and governments can choose to benefit from the tax windfall that such a pastime delivers, or they can choose to oppose it and allow that not inconsiderable potential revenue flow out of the country and into the clutches of offshore companies.
Technology
Nigeria and Uganda have both recognised the immense potential of Internet sports betting sites in particular. Several operators have been active in Uganda over the past year including Zynga, livescore.com, soccervista.com and xscores.com.
In Nigeria, BetOn Sports Ltd has been active with bet2win.com and is already seeing massive growth there with the rise in mobile phone technology enabling more of the population to access the site while on the go. It provides bettors in that country with a faster and more streamlined means of betting than is currently provided by brick and mortar sportsbook shops and bookmakers, not to mention the fact that they don't even need to leave their own homes to place a bet any more.
Ghana has entered into the spirit of online sports betting with SafariBet being licensed and operational for the past eight months. In fact their website now ranks 23rd most popular in the country.
Other countries on that continent are watching with great interest to see how these pioneering governments fare financially. But it is fairly obvious that the lure of substantial tax revenue flowing into their own coffers and not someone else's might just be persuasive enough to have others following suit in short order.
