How Africa’s Sports Betting Markets Compare Globally
Africa is one of the world’s largest and fastest regional markets in the global sports betting business. High interest in football and the increasing adoption of mobile internet, has seen the number of bettors in Africa explode in recent years.
The total sector is estimated to be worth some $7 billion a year according to the latest data. Some 400 million Africans place bets regularly, with South Africa and Nigeria being the largest regulated markets.
Yet still, these markets remain quite different to global big players like the UK, the US and Canada. This article will explore some of those differences, across market size, regulation, taxation and player protections.
South Africa Remains the Continents’ Largest Betting Market
Cricket, football and horse racing dominate the sports for bettors in Africa’s largest regulated national market. It is also the longest running regulated market, with full legalization and licensing coming into effect in 2008.
Today more than 35 licensed sports betting sites operate across South Africa, and they generate around $4 billion a year according to most estimates.
Yet, despite the successes of many regulated markets around the world in capturing gambling from locally untaxed offshore sites (see Canada, later on) up to two thirds of gambling activity in South Africa remains through offshore operators.
The country continues to work on its framework for advertising and player protections, as well as aiming to channel more players to locally-regulated sites. That includes potential changes in advertising regulations coming later this year. This is all taking place amid ongoing discussion about sin taxes, which could put more tax burdens on locally-licensed operators.
Nigeria is the Fastest Growing Betting Market in Africa, but Regulation is Patchy
Nigeria has one of Africa’s biggest populations, so it makes sense that it would also have a big percentage of the continent’s bettors. Football is also hugely popular across the country.
The young, mobile-first demographic drives the Nigerian sector. To the point, per capita, it has one of the world’s highest online betting participation rates. Estimates are it makes around $3.5 billion a year – which means it is catching up to South Africa as the continent’s top betting markets.
Interestingly, the vast majority of Nigerian sports betting is on English Premier League and European Champions League football, especially on teams with Nigerian stars. Domestic football leagues attract some betting interest, but far less than the big European leagues.
However, the nature of the sector in Nigeria is complicated. Despite being legal and regulated, licenses are divided between federal and state authorities and standards are not unified in many cases. The November 2024 decision to void the National Lottery Act of Nigeria and turn regulation over to states, after 16 years of legal uncertainty, has caused a big transition in the sector.
Different states choose to tax operators differently, while some simply allow offshore operators to continue as before. This also means responsible gambling and player protections are dealt with differently across the sector.
Canada and the USA Have Shown Rapid Expansion
Where Africa’s betting markets are relatively new, evolving with smartphones, North America’s bettors have long adopted online betting through desktop devices. Yet, it all largely remained offshore and unregulated due to strict federal gambling laws in the US, and no real regulation at all in Canada.
That was until 2018, when New Jersey struck down the legal act that had previously prevented individual states from offering sports betting. Today, these two markets have seen incredible growth – and are undoubtedly two of the biggest in the world.
Just a look at the leading sports betting sites operating in Canada on a list by Covers.com, for example, shows you how much competition there is in the market. Just like players in Africa, Canadians use these sites to compare their options, across game collections, bonuses, payment speeds and more, in a fragmented regulatory system.
Despite only one province so far, soon to be two, the province of Ontario alone makes $4 billion a year in revenue for operators – bigger than either South Africa or Nigeria. The province of Alberta is also soon to open, which should add another billion dollars, give or take, onto proceedings.
Ontario has also been very successful in bringing bettors to the locally-licensed market – 91% at the last count by regulators. Something Nigeria and South Africa, and to some extent the USA, could definitely learn from.
Meanwhile the USA now has legal online betting in 40 states. It is on track to hit more than the $14 billion of revenues in 2025, when bettors wagered a collective $160 billion at regulated sportsbooks. And that is not mentioning the offshore markets.
Both the US markets and Ontario and soon-to-be Alberta have strict frameworks in place for responsible gambling tools and player protections, including self-exclusion schemes, advertising limits and mandatory KYC checks and affordability monitoring on player accounts. Something that is only patchily mandated or enforced in African betting markets generally.
