Africa’s online gambling industry is often portrayed as a regulatory problem. New analysis suggests a different framing: it could be one of the continent’s biggest untapped economic opportunities if more of the activity happens within regulated markets.
A market analysis by Gaming Compliance International (GCI) argues that Africa already has the demand, consumer base, and market size needed to build a thriving regulated online gambling sector. The report says, is how effectively governments ensure consumers use licensed platforms instead of operators operating outside local oversight.
The report, Online Gaming 2024–2025: Africa, is described as the first continent-wide assessment covering both regulated and unregulated online gambling across all 54 African countries. Its central message is that Africa’s future won’t be determined by whether governments regulate gambling, but by how well they optimize the online gambling marketplace as a whole.
GCI says effective regulation depends on four interconnected priorities: Monitor the full online gambling marketplace, Police unlicensed operators targeting African consumers, enforce regulatory integrity, and optimize the regulated sector so it stays attractive, accessible, and competitive. Together, these priorities make up GCI’s MPEO framework, which the organization presents as a practical roadmap for strengthening consumer protection while expanding legitimate economic activity.
GCI’s CEO, Matt Holt, said the report offers a clearer view of the entire market for regulators, noting that the regulated sector is growing in multiple countries and beginning to gain ground. He described this as evidence that regulatory tools can work but also emphasized the need for regulators to understand their specific market realities.
The figures in the report support that direction. Africa’s online gambling market generated an estimated $23 billion in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) in 2025, up from $20 billion in 2024. Revenue from licensed operators rose from $4.4 billion in 2024 to $5.2 billion in 2025, increasing the regulated share from 22% to 23%. Although the regulated increase is modest, it suggests regulated markets are expanding even as illegal operators intensify competition.
Consumer engagement is also increasing. The report estimates that 215 million Africans participated in online gambling in 2025, compared with 198 million (13%) in 2024. Regulated audience exposure rose slightly from 10% to 11%, indicating that licensed operators are gradually becoming more visible to consumers.
However, these gains are outweighed by the scale of unregulated activity. Revenue flowing to unlicensed operators increased from $15.6 billion in 2024 to $17.8 billion in 2025, meaning 77% of Africa’s online gambling revenue still sits outside local regulatory oversight. The number of unregulated platforms targeting African consumers also rose sharply from 3,644 to 4,129 in a single year. GCI argues these figures should not only be read as signs of regulatory weakness, but also as proof of the size of the opportunity available to African governments.
GCI President Ismail Vali said the market should be defined by opportunity rather than challenges. The analysis argues that millions of consumers already participate in online betting and gaming, creating economic activity and the potential for regulated markets to deliver public revenues, safer consumer outcomes, and stronger local commerce. The main challenge, the report says, is not creating demand, it is ensuring that demand is captured inside the regulated sector.
Because regulators often measure success by the number of licensed operators or enforcement actions, GCI recommends shifting the benchmark toward marketplace outcomes: whether consumers are choosing licensed platforms over illegal alternatives. Achieving that requires looking beyond traditional licensing models.
GCI highlights that today’s online gambling marketplace is supported by a wider digital ecosystem that includes search engines, social media, payment providers, streaming platforms, affiliate marketing, mobile applications, and peer-to-peer communications. If these ecosystem participants aren’t included in monitoring and enforcement, illegal operators gain structural advantages that compliant businesses struggle to overcome.
The report also points to policy choices that can determine whether consumers stay within regulated markets. It says high taxes charged directly to customers can push them toward offshore operators. Excessive taxation of licensed operators can reduce their ability to compete on pricing, bonuses, and customer experience. It also notes that restrictive payment systems, limited product offerings, or overly cumbersome licensing processes may unintentionally reinforce unregulated competition.
Region-by-region, the report suggests progress is possible. West Africa leads the continent in regulated market share, with licensed operators accounting for 31% of online gambling revenue in 2025. Southern Africa follows at 28%, Central Africa at 22%, and East Africa at 15%. North Africa remains largely outside regulated online gambling, with licensed operators accounting for just 0.3%.
Country comparisons reinforce the same theme. Nigeria is cited as having the lowest share of unregulated gambling among major markets, with illegal operators accounting for 56% of activity. Ghana follows at 67%, while Seychelles records 60%. Elsewhere, unregulated operators dominate to a much larger extent, underlining the report’s emphasis on stronger legislation, effective enforcement, and regional cooperation.
GCI also includes a marketplace scorecard that measures jurisdictions using factors such as taxation, licensing accessibility, product availability, payment infrastructure, and enforcement capacity. Africa’s average regulatory score rose only marginally from 9 out of 100 in 2024 to 10 out of 100 in 2025. Ghana leads with a score of 38, followed by Nigeria at 32, indicating that while progress exists, there is still significant room for improvement across many jurisdictions.
Finally, the implications extend beyond gambling. GCI argues that improving marketplace optimization would benefit governments, legitimate businesses, and consumers at the same time through higher tax revenues, stronger local commerce, job creation, improved consumer protections, and fewer opportunities for criminal exploitation. The report estimates that Africa forfeited around $4.45 billion in potential tax revenue during 2025 due to unregulated gambling activity.
For Vali, the solution is not simply more regulation, but regulation designed to produce better outcomes. He says marketplace outcomes are the ultimate test of regulatory success, and the goal should be to optimise the entire online gambling marketplace so consumers enter, remain within, and benefit from regulated services.
The report concludes that Africa’s online gambling future should not be seen as a trade-off between regulation and growth. With well-designed regulation, it says, both can be achieved. With the market already valued at $23 billion, the continent’s biggest opportunity is ensuring more of that economic activity is captured through transparent, competitive, well-regulated marketplaces where success is measured not only by rules and licensing, but by protected consumers, stronger local businesses, higher public revenues, and a shrinking unregulated sector.
