Africa’s gaming industry is enjoying unprecedented growth, with millions of new players, rising investments and expanding digital platforms transforming the continent into one of the world’s fastest-growing betting markets. Yet beneath that remarkable growth lies an equally pressing challenge: how to ensure that responsible gaming and player protection keep pace with the industry’s rapid expansion. It is against this backdrop that Gamble Alert convened the second edition of its annual The Responsible Gaming Symposium (TRGS), bringing together regulators, operators, technology experts and other stakeholders to examine how the sector can balance commercial success with consumer protection and long-term sustainability. Iyke Bede reports
As the African gaming market continues to expand, cementing its position as one of the fastest-growing in the world, concerns around player protection remain a critical issue that is still not adequately addressed amid the industry’s rapid growth.
For the second consecutive year, Gamble Alert has continued its drive to spotlight these challenges by convening stakeholders across the sector for its annual Responsible Gaming Symposium (TRGS), aimed at strengthening dialogue on sustainability in the industry and the well-being of millions of players who power its economic growth.
The event, themed ‘Building Accountability: Strengthening Regulatory Oversight for Player Protection’, was held at D’Podium Event Centre in Ikeja, Lagos, and spotlighted key issues such as responsible gaming practices, gaps in existing regulatory frameworks, the growing risks of problem gambling, and the need for stronger collaboration between operators, regulators, and civil society to strengthen player protection across the ecosystem.
“From the very beginning, we were intentional,” CEO, Gamble Alert, Fisayo Oke, said, referring to the organisation’s guiding principle. “We wouldn’t become loud critics shouting from the sidelines. We would build structures. We would build systems to guide that vision through a 12-year strategic plan anchored in the clear ambition to become the gaming industry’s trusted player protection partners.”
Exploring the African gaming landscape in terms of global best practices, Group Head, Responsible Gaming, at pawaTech, Olabimpe Akingba, who represented the CEO of the African iGaming Alliance, Peter Emolemo Kesitilwe, raised salient points about the importance of adapting to local contexts for effective outcomes.
“For many years, discussions about players’ protection were often treated as secondary to the growth of the industry. That era, clearly, has ended,” said Akingba. “Across the world, we have operators, regulators, investors, public health experts, and consumers demanding accountability; asking important questions about how we can ensure safer gaming tools are effective, and not merely symbolic.”
Akingba argued that there must be answers that reflect the realities of the sector, alluding to the implementation of global best practices that guided Western markets without being tailored to the socio-economic realities of African countries. She also noted that players who lack the necessary education on the nuances will be unable to fully appreciate responsible gaming measures, thereby undermining efforts aimed at player protection.
In a similar vein, the CEO of the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority, Bashir Are, reiterated the importance of adapting global best practices to align with local realities, stressing that player protection remains paramount in gaming regulation and requires the collective effort of all stakeholders.
He also highlighted the need to strike a balance between revenue generation and responsible gaming, advocating greater transparency, accountability, and ethical practices across the sector. According to him, investing in responsible gaming initiatives, public awareness campaigns, and stakeholder collaboration is crucial to building a sustainable, innovative, and competitive gaming ecosystem across Africa.
During a panel session tagged ‘The Future of Responsible Gaming in Africa: Strengthening Regulatory Oversight for Player Protection’, which featured Are, alongside Deputy Commissioner for Strategy and Growth at the Ghana Gaming Commission, Alhaji Bashiru Donbine, and Director-General of the Oyo State Gaming and Lottery Board, Olajide Boladuro, the speakers acknowledged the growth of the industry, with Are specifically noting that more work has to be done in the aspects of responsible gaming.
Donbine identified Know Your Customer (KYC) as a major gap in many African countries. In Ghana, the regulatory body has linked the national identity card to its database to enforce operator compliance. He expressed his concerns, saying, “The gap in the system is KYC. It is another area we have to focus on because education in terms of responsible gaming alone will not be able to fully achieve the goals. But if there are subsystems that are in place to monitor underage gambling, it would help.”
On Boladuro’s part, he revealed that advertisements are closely vetted by the regulator to ensure they meet acceptable standards in the state, with people prioritised over revenue generation. He also explained how artificial intelligence (AI) can be harnessed to track player behaviour and detect abnormal changes. On the other hand, he acknowledged that regulators must leverage AI to keep pace with operators’ innovation.
By and large, the speakers emphasised the importance of collaboration across the board, noting that if all stakeholders are carried along at the same pace, the industry would attain a more harmonious state that supports sustainable progress.
Bringing a more structural lens to the discussion, Managing Partner at WYS Solicitors, Olafadeke Akeju, argued that current responsible gaming efforts across Africa remain insufficient in addressing the scale of emerging risks. She highlighted concerns around regulatory independence, technological influence, and commercial pressure within the sector.
Akeju further noted that the industry’s response must move beyond surface-level compliance to address deeper societal drivers of problem gambling, particularly among younger demographics. She pointed to gaps in data governance, fragmented regulatory systems, and the difficulty of assessing affordability across diverse socio-economic realities as major constraints limiting effective intervention.
She advocated for stronger data-sharing frameworks, the integration of self-exclusion systems across operators, and increased investment in treatment and support services as critical pillars of a more responsive and sustainable responsible gaming ecosystem.