The African gaming market is growing, with a recent report showing the market size at $1.5B, according to the IGB Africa Report. The growth is fueled by Africa’s rapidly growing economy, population, and mobile money adoption.
This growth has led to an influx of European operators to the African market.
Expectedly, the African market is also unique in a lot more ways. There are many nuances to consider before launching in the African market. Some of the critical features are in light of the limits of internet bandwidth, SMS and USSD betting, and mobile money support.
BetEngines is a sportsbook software company that has taken this challenge head-on by building a complete sportsbook solution, tailor-made to fulfil the needs of the African customer and their behaviour, featuring a mobile-first design, mobile money deposits and withdrawals, USSD and SMS betting, among others.
Speaking with FindMoreAfrica on the margins of the recently concluded SiGMA Africa conference in Nairobi, Kenya, the company’s CEO and software engineer, Emil Makariev – having worked on numerous gaming projects throughout East Africa over the years and being the key driving force behind the business- stated that BetEngines is the outcome of extensive research on the specific needs of the African gaming market.
While it may not matter to a European operator whether their platform is compatible with the Opera Mini browser or USSD, an African operator relies on those services for roughly 50% of their revenue and cannot function without them. These details, according to Emil, were the seeds from which BetEngines was born.
The African gaming industry is evolving and growing very fast, but what’s for sure is that localized solutions have been observed to be capturing a larger market share in comparison to solutions developed with a European and Asian focus, noted Emil.
At the moment, BetEngines software can be live-tested on https://gwalabet.co.tz/ in Tanzania. After launching in August 2022, Gwalabet has succeeded in making upwards of 250K registrations and 1 Billion TZS GGR in less than four months making the site the fastest-growing betting site in Tanzania.
BetEngines sportsbook software is also operating in Kenya as TickBet; https://tickbet.ke.
BetEngines’ experience of the African market has also allowed the company to create creative commercial packages for African operators as opposed to standard payment terms offered by most competitors.
“Not all African operators have massive budgets to launch their operations, and with this BetEngines has customized their commercial package to cater to each operator’s status”, said Emil.
Commenting on BetEngine’s participation in SIGMA Africa, Emil said the event was very successful. He is optimistic about closing various opportunities while exhibiting at the event.
If you are curious about this brand-new product made just for Africa, send them a note here – or meet them in person during ICE London 7-9 February 2023.
