Having made their first tentative steps into the African betting market in Kenya in 2015, UK gambling giant Betway has now expanded to a number of other sports-crazy African nations. Already their sponsorship of leading African football teams has played a big part in raising their profile, and by the looks of things they are well on their way to becoming the largest online betting service across the continent.
Betway finally entered the South African betting scene in 2017, and already uptake in their platform has been high. While the firm ensures that their software/site is accessible across any common format, like most of the major gambling companies their focus nowadays is firmly on smartphone apps. Unlike some of their rivals, however, they have gone to great lengths to make the mobile version of their platform as close as possible to their desktop website. Almost all the same options and features are available via smartphone, making it extremely convenient to place bets wherever you may find yourself.
Why Has Betway Focused Upon Africa?
Online sportsbook services (just like slots and casino games) have enjoyed a global boom in popularity over the last few years. Technological advances and the widespread use of smartphones across the world have allowed gambling companies to offer their services to many previously untapped markets. While they continue to expand in new European territories, the legalities and red-tape involved have made this take considerably longer than expected. While waiting for the go-ahead to enter these new markets, the largest companies have created action plans to open their sites almost immediately – which has been key to why Betfair have made such progress in Africa so quickly.
Their decision to enter Africa a couple of years ago was as much a test of how quickly they could gain a market share as it was of immediately looking to earn revenues. Thanks to African countries being very open to online gambling businesses (and pretty much any kind of tech-based investment) they were able to begin operating almost immediately. Uptake/sign-ups was so quick that it was a no-brainer to not look to expand into other territories as quickly as possible – but Betway did so a little different to their rivals.
Investment In Local Sports Development
Anyone aware of Betway’s European operation will know that they have sponsored plenty of football clubs (mostly in England) as well as various competitions. They don’t just invest in high profile teams such as Stoke City, but also set up partnerships with many clubs for in-stadium advertising boards, website and match day marketing rights.
This model has been seen across the most popular African leagues so far, with Betway sponsoring Ghana’s Ashanti Gold and well as one of Kenya’s most popular sides, AFC Leopards. They have also started enterprising projects to form exchange projects between numerous African sides and top European clubs.
Ultimately, the hope is that by investing in youth development their association will become synonymous with local leagues – and of course attract further custom as more supporters opt to wager on their smartphones. It is widely expected that their sponsorship program will soon expand into the South African leagues.
A Top Quality Betting Service For African Supporters
Although there have been various options for African sports fans to place bets online, the truth is that the arrival of Betfair is a real gamechanger. Offering a slick, secure and totally comprehensive betting operation which can be easily accessed around the clock quite simply supersedes everything the region has had access to before. All customers need to do is click here to go to Betway Nigeria and they’ll realize that it is offering as high quality a service as enjoyed by customers in Europe and the UK.
Most market observers would back Betway for earning a good slice of the African betting market thanks to their being one of the first on the scene, and just as importantly promoting their service by investment in local competitions and clubs. No matter how you look at it, for African sports fans, the arrival of sites such as Betway can only be good news.
