Nowadays, betting has become extremely popular in Africa. A lot of punters wager every day across the continent. But what were the factors that contributed to that? If we dive deep into this subject, we will point out that the overall population of Africa is substantial. It is even bigger than both Europe and North America! That is why the online betting market is so extensive and lucrative. As is everywhere in the world, Africans adore sports. To date, there is a certain subculture of sports fans. But to make watching sports even more exciting and thrilling, people love wagering. Today, the most convenient way to do that is via mobile phone. But what is the premise of this technology boom? How do mobile technologies affect betting online? In this article, we are going to find out.
Betting and Technologies
Having a closer look at betting, we would notice that internal and external factors caused mobile devices to be so widespread. The combination of these components created a general rise in betting in Africa.
External Factors
The external causes of the popularity of mobile device betting are preconditions of this phenomenon. It means that the development of these conditions was not initiated to create demand for online betting products directly.
As we mentioned before, the population of Africa is vast. Relying on The World Bank and African Development Bank report, we found out that there are over 650 million mobile users in Africa. Eventually, this exposure to mobile phones causes people to see ads about online betting services. Due to poor economic conditions and a lack of financial literacy, people consider betting a tool for quick money.
Considering the general poverty, we notice a particular need for various forms of entertainment in rural areas of Africa. Many sportsbook companies open their establishments in large quantities across the country. And because of the lack of alternatives, Africans choose bet shops as a place for pastimes. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has played a considerable role in the shift to wagering online, as people have got to stay indoors. Due to those changes, people started to resort to mobile devices as they allowed people to return to their favorite activities within the set rules of the epidemic.
Needless to say, the reduced prices on mobile phones played a massive role in popularizing using them. Globalization and high demand made mobile phones more accessible, and people fully understood their convenience. Betting was not an exception to that. The 5G connection took the user’s experience to the next level because it provides excellent speed for an Internet connection.
Those were the external factors that laid the groundwork for the digitalization of online betting. The advancement of mobile phones made betting easier; however, some changes still would make it even more attractive to customers.
Internal Factors
The development of technologies made a real breakthrough in the wagering business. However, extreme competition in the market forced betting companies to search for more advanced means to promote their products. The betting companies have made several major improvements.
Responsiveness of the Websites
As more and more Nigerians started to use mobile phones to wager, the companies realized that there were updates that needed to be made, which is why they made their websites responsive to mobile devices. It means that the code of the web pages has been changed so that the webpage elements responsively adapt to smaller screens.
Applications Release
Despite the presence of adaptive web pages, online betting companies’ developers created iOS and Android applications to make the betting experience even more convenient. Undoubtedly, apps are way better than using a sportsbook on a mobile phone browser. First of all, logging in is more accessible and safer. Generally, there is a unique passcode that protects your account. Secondly, apps function faster. However, there are pitfalls in using apps. Quite often, you may find it difficult to download it, or the application may not be available on the app market for your device.
Increasing Number of Ways to Replenish and Withdraw
To make users wager, a lot of betting companies have added convenient means to top up your balance. Among the available options, you may find major credit cards and e-wallets like Skrill or PayPal. Cryptocurrencies are also a very popular option to change your bet wallet balance. Many sportsbook companies include Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and other cryptocurrencies on their list. Betting companies know well that the more versatile their service is, the more revenue it will generate.
Safety of Online Betting
When it comes to safety, betting companies invest a lot. These ventures are responsible for the balance of their profits. That is why two-factor authentication and one-time authentication were introduced to protect users’ data. This internal factor also played a huge role in popularizing betting with the help of mobile phones.
As we can see, those factors made online betting even more widespread among users. It is great that, due to the competition on the market, reliable sportsbooks were filtered from unreliable ones.
Conclusion
In Africa, wide dissemination of mobile phones contributed a lot to popularizing online wagering. After the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigerians started using devices even more, allowing them to continue doing their mundane activities, placing stakes included. The trend of using mobile phones stayed after the outbreak. Eventually, online betting services have done a great job of improving their products. By making betting safe, adding various types of balance replenishment, and releasing applications, the CEOs of the services refined betting. They created an excellent environment for Nigerians to place stakes everywhere and at any time.
