Industry stakeholders join forces for first Africa Safer Gambling Week
The African iGaming Alliance (AiA) has launched the maiden Africa Safer Gambling Week, aimed at promoting player protection across the continent.
Starting on Monday, the initiative brings together stakeholders in Africa, including regulators and industry associations. The Africa Safer Gambling Week will be held annually.
The initiative is based around a core objective of ensuring the growth of the gambling sector in Africa runs alongside “effective consumer protection, responsible gambling practices and greater public awareness”.
Under the campaign banner #PlaySafeAfrica, each day of this week will focus on a specific aspect of safer gambling. These include responsible gambling, personal limits and the prevention of underage gambling.
The week will feature a coordinated programme of engagement between regulators and the industry, as well as public education and digital awareness activities.
Peter Kesitilwe, CEO of the AiA, said the industry’s growth must be matched by a stronger focus on player protection, highlighting the need for greater collaboration between regulators and operators.
“As Africa’s gambling industry continues to grow, player protection must grow with it,” he said. “Africa Safer Gambling Week brings regulators and industry together around a shared commitment to safer gambling and stronger consumer protection.
“We fully support consumers having the tools and information they need to gamble responsibly, this week, like every week, is about ensuring our customers’ safety.”
AiA calls for collaboration in Africa
The AiA has urged stakeholders of Africa’s gambling sector to collaborate, something the association said will prove increasingly important as the continent’s industry continues to develop.
The AiA has called for collaboration in the form of strengthening cooperation, sharing good practices and maintaining safer gambling at the forefront of policy agenda.
Additionally, the Africa Safer Gambling Week will emphasise the importance of channelisation into legal offerings, with the AiA warning the black market often neglects player protection.
Olabimpe Akingba, head of responsible gaming at pawaTech and AiA board member, said the initiative reflects the association’s push to turn cross-border collaboration within Africa’s iGaming sector into tangible action on player protection.
“At the African iGaming Alliance, we have been committed to moving beyond conversations about collaboration across African jurisdictions towards meaningful action,” she explained.
“And what better place to demonstrate that commitment than through player protection? The Africa Safer Gambling Week is our collaboration in action.”
On Monday, the AiA announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Association of Nigerian Bookmakers to establish closer ties on matters both in Nigeria and across Africa.
The MoU will explore opportunities for collaboration on areas such as safer gambling, player protection and taxation.
It’s the second MoU the AiA has signed in the last three weeks, having established a framework for closer cooperation with the Association of Gaming Operators of Kenya in late August.