Iyke Bede reports on the launch of the Africa Responsible Gaming Network’s Nigerian Chapter, its toll-free helpline and efforts to strengthen awareness, research, support and regulation in response to gambling-related harm across the continent.
Following the continental launch of the Africa Responsible Gaming Network (ARGN), a platform of coalesced responsible gaming organisations across Africa recently held the launch of its Nigerian Chapter in Ikeja, Lagos.
The network, which comprises 21 members from 11 countries, is guided by its objectives to promote collaboration, knowledge-sharing and coordinated responses to gambling-related harm across Africa.
As part of the launch, the network unveiled a toll-free helpline, 0800-00-GETHELP, to make it easier for individuals experiencing gambling-related harm to access support and assistance. The line is intended to bring its services closer to the public by removing the cost barrier associated with seeking help.
The Programme Director of the Responsible Gaming Against Addiction Foundation (RGAAF), Seun Abimbola, said the ARGN was established through a collaborative effort among responsible gaming stakeholders in Nigeria and other African countries.
He said, “A number of us in the responsible gaming space in Nigeria decided to come together. While we were trying to do this, we also realised that the conversation was happening at a continental level. There were other people in South Africa and Botswana dealing with these same issues, and it was on this ground that the ARGN was created. And Nigeria is playing an active role.”
The ARGN prioritises four major areas of intervention, including awareness and prevention through coordinated campaigns. As part of this effort, it has adopted November as its Safer Gambling Awareness Month and plans to use the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) to identify the level of risk associated with individuals’ gambling behaviour and potential gambling-related harm.
Through Research and Evidence, it harnesses the strengths of member organisations to conduct collaborative research into gambling behaviour, advertising and its effects across African markets. The findings help inform the level of treatment and support individuals can access through gambling-blocking tools, treatment centres and helplines.
The fourth priority is policy development, which focuses on recommendations and practical responsible gaming measures for regulators and policymakers.
The ARGN’s intervention comes at a time when online gambling is growing rapidly across African markets, with aggressive advertising, celebrity endorsements and promotions that present betting as a route to financial success. Weak enforcement of existing regulations, alongside the emergence of products such as crash games and predictive markets, has added to concerns about player protection.
Founder of Gamble Aware NG, Gabriel Akpabio, said the industry’s expansion was outpacing efforts to protect players, warning that “this growth is basically outpacing every other safety measure around players”.