How does Felix Mulandi define his role in the iGaming industry?

Felix Mulandi defines his role at the intersection of product, marketing, and localization, focusing on building scalable player ecosystems, improving acquisition efficiency, increasing activation rates, and maximizing player lifetime value.

How do modern sportsbooks generate revenue?

Revenue in modern sportsbooks is driven by hold percentage (typically 5%–12%), live betting margins, cross-selling into casino products, player retention, and personalization strategies that increase engagement and betting frequency.

When did Felix Mulandi transition from operator to strategist?

Felix transitioned into a strategist role when he shifted from executing campaigns to designing scalable growth systems, focusing on repeatable growth, reducing dependency on paid acquisition, and integrating product, payments, CRM, and marketing.

Are regulations in African iGaming markets keeping pace with innovation?

Regulation in African iGaming markets is still catching up to innovation. However, countries like Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa are making progress with clearer licensing frameworks, taxation models, and compliance requirements.

What areas of the betting ecosystem are likely to be disrupted in the next five years?

Key areas of disruption include instant payments, AI-driven personalization, and social betting features such as community engagement, leaderboards, and influencer-driven content.

Can gamification improve responsible gambling?

Gamification can improve engagement if implemented correctly, but it can also encourage excessive play if tied too closely to betting activity. The key is to reward engagement without directly incentivizing higher spending.

What is the biggest challenge in the betting industry today?

The biggest challenge is over-investment in user acquisition at the expense of retention. Many operators lose most users within weeks, with only a small percentage contributing long-term value.

What part of the iGaming experience needs the most improvement?

Onboarding and first-time user experience need the most improvement. Simplifying registration, guiding initial bets, and reducing complexity can significantly increase conversion rates and early retention.

Felix Mulandi: How Africa’s iGaming Industry Is Evolving

Q: How has the iGaming industry evolved in East Africa over the past decade?

The iGaming industry in East Africa has evolved through three phases: acquisition (2015–2019), expansion, and now optimization. The focus has shifted from aggressive bonuses to product quality, user experience, faster payments, and regulatory structure, with retention becoming the key competitive factor.

Q: Does public perception of iGaming executives reflect reality?

Public perception often overlooks the complexity of the industry. iGaming operators manage fraud prevention, compliance, responsible gambling frameworks, and real-time risk management, making the industry more structured than commonly assumed.

Felix Mulandi is an Experienced iGaming Professional focused on Africa, with over a decade of strategic and operational expertise across betting and tech media. He has advised leading gaming brands on growth, customer engagement, and localization strategies across the continent’s most dynamic markets.

As Africa’s iGaming sector shifts from rapid expansion to a more structured, competitive, and regulated phase, conversations around retention, profitability, and product experience are becoming increasingly critical. In this interview with Felix Mulandi, featured on FindMoreAfrica, he breaks down the evolution of East Africa’s iGaming industry, the shifting economics of sportsbooks, and why retention—not acquisition—is emerging as the defining factor for long-term success in the market.

How do you define your role in the iGaming industry today? What’s the common thread in your career?

I’ve spent my career at the intersection of product, marketing, and market localization, building scalable player ecosystems across multiple brands. The common thread across my career has been building scalable player ecosystems, acquiring users efficiently, improving activation, and maximizing lifetime value through strong product experiences.

In practical terms, that means optimizing the full funnel: lowering cost per acquisition, improving first-time deposit conversion rates, and extending player lifecycle. In most African markets, fewer than 30–40% of registered users ever convert to depositing players, and even fewer become repeat users. My focus has been closing that gap—turning traffic into sustained revenue.

How has the iGaming industry evolved in East Africa over the past decade?

The market has gone through three clear phases: acquisition, expansion, and now optimization. Between 2015–2019, growth was driven by aggressive bonuses and the rapid adoption of mobile money. Markets like Kenya became global case studies, with over 70–80% of betting transactions happening via mobile wallets. From 2020 onwards, we’ve seen a shift toward product maturity, faster platforms, improved UX, and more structured regulatory frameworks.

Today, the competitive edge is no longer who gives the biggest bonus, but who delivers the fastest withdrawals, the most stable app, and the most relevant localized experience. Players are also more informed. Churn rates remain high, often above 60% within the first 30 days, so retention has become the real battleground.

How is revenue generated in a modern sportsbook operation?

At its core, revenue is driven by the hold percentage, typically ranging between 5% and 12% depending on the sport, market, and player behavior.

However, modern sportsbook economics go far beyond that:

Live betting now accounts for 60–80% of total turnover in many markets, with higher margins than pre-match
Cross-sell into casino and virtuals significantly increases ARPU, often by 2–3x compared to sports book-only users
Retention and frequency drive profitability, top 10–20% of players typically generate over 70% of revenue
Personalization increases bet frequency and average stake through targeted offers and content

The real driver is player lifetime value. A sportsbook becomes profitable not when a user places a bet, but when they stay active over weeks and months.

When did you start seeing yourself as a strategist rather than an operator?

The shift happened when I moved from campaign execution to system design. Early on, the focus is on metrics like clicks, registrations, and deposits. Over time, you realize those are outputs of a larger system.

Strategy begins when you start asking: how do we build repeatable growth? How do we reduce dependency on constant spend? How do product, payments, CRM, and marketing work together as one engine? It’s the difference between optimizing campaigns and architecting growth frameworks.

Do regulations in African markets keep pace with innovation?

In most cases, regulation is still catching up. Innovation in payments, mobile UX, and gamification moves significantly faster than policy frameworks. That said, we’re seeing progress. Markets like Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa are becoming more structured, with clearer licensing frameworks, taxation models, and compliance expectations.

The challenge is balance, over-regulation can stifle growth, while under-regulation creates sustainability risks. The long-term winners will be markets where regulators and operators align on responsible growth.

What part of the betting ecosystem is most likely to be disrupted in the next 5 years?

Three areas will define the next phase:
Payments: Instant deposits and withdrawals will become standard. Any delay beyond a few minutes will negatively impact trust and conversion.

Personalization: AI-driven systems will tailor odds presentation, offers, and content at an individual level, increasing engagement and retention.

Social betting: Community-driven engagement, tips, leaderboards, influencer-driven betting will reshape how users interact with platforms.

The real disruption will not come from a single feature, but from how these elements are integrated into a seamless, real-time experience.

Does public perception of iGaming executives reflect reality?

Not entirely. There’s a perception that the industry is purely profit-driven, but the operational reality is far more complex. Operators manage fraud prevention, AML compliance, responsible gambling frameworks, payment integrations, and real-time risk management.

In some markets, fraud rates can reach 10–15% of attempted transactions, requiring significant investment in monitoring and controls. The iGaming industry is far more structured and far more scrutinized than most people assume.

Could gamification improve or distort responsible gambling?

It depends entirely on implementation. Gamification can improve engagement by introducing progression systems, rewards, and non-monetary incentives. However, if tied too closely to betting activity, it risks encouraging excessive play.

The key is separation, by rewarding engagement without directly incentivizing higher spend. Well-designed systems can actually support responsible gambling by encouraging controlled, predictable interaction rather than driving impulsive behavior.

What is the most uncomfortable truth about the betting industry?

The industry still over-invests in acquisition at the expense of retention. It’s common to see operators spending heavily on bonuses and marketing to acquire users, only to lose the majority within the first few weeks. In many cases, less than 20% of users contribute meaningful long-term value. Sustainable growth comes from product-market fit, user experience, and retention systems, not just marketing budgets.

If you could redesign one part of the iGaming ecosystem, what would it be?

I would redesign onboarding and the first-time user experience. Currently, many platforms overwhelm users with complexities of multiple bet types, unclear odds formats, and cluttered interfaces. This creates friction at the most critical stage of the funnel.

Improving onboarding by simplifying registration, guiding first bets, and reducing cognitive load will always lead to an increase in conversion rates by 20–30% and significantly improve early retention. In the African gambling market, the first five minutes often determine the entire player lifecycle.