Africa’s Biggest Betting Markets

The Mother Continent traditionally does not get associated with gambling. Yet, the truth is that it has a rich history with this activity, one that predates colonial influences. Hence, gambling on games of chance and sports is not a recent phenomenon in Africa, but somewhat of an indigenous practice. Games like Mancala, known as Boa in East Africa and Oware in the West, have long been a part of African societies, predating the Europeans. When the latter came, they introduced card games to Africans and other traditional Western gambling options.

Naturally, Islam’s spread in this part of the world slowed down the evolution and widespread enjoyment of gambling, as it explicitly forbids it.

Yet, today, some dominantly Islamic nations in Africa have casinos, but access to them is only allowed for tourists. The Prophet Muhammad condemned this pastime as sinful and as something that distracts believers from their faith, fostering greed in their hearts. But, thanks to technology, the rise of popular sports like football, and the globalization of culture, sports betting in particular has become less taboo on this slice of Earth. Accordingly, Africa’s gambling industry has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past few decades.

The digital revolution of the 2000s, especially the advent of mobile technology and expanding Internet access, has helped online betting surge in Africa, primarily fueled by Africa’s football obsession. Still, it must get pointed out that regulatory frameworks vary widely here, and below, we tell you about the four top betting markets on the world’s second most populous continent.

South Africa

Going by data from the National Gambling Board of South Africa, the Rainbow Nation is by far the most developed gambling market in Africa. It contributes 40–50% of the continent’s total gambling revenue, with the country’s industry getting valued at around ZAR 30 billion, which equates to $2.1 billion. The National Gambling Board reports that two-thirds of the total revenue pulled can get credited to sports betting, and this body cites South Africa’s high unemployment rate as the top reason for the high popularity of this entertainment form. It stood at 32.1% in the second half of 2024, with young people being especially jobless, with 45% of them from fifteen to thirty-five remaining unemployed.

Some have also suggested that if the country’s government clamps down on taxes, they would turn away some people from this activity, as those who win large sums get exempt from paying tax on these winnings in South Africa, as long as they did their gambling at authorized sites. What is interesting about South Africa is that it does not allow internet casino gambling, poker, or bingo play, but is fine with sports wagering, as long as the platforms offering it have attained a license from a province’s board. The Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board is currently the most active one in terms of supplying online bookmaker licenses.

Nigeria

Nigerians love football, and they love betting on it. Per a recent research, 19% of the country’s adult population gambled online in February 2025, with most of these individuals being under the age of thirty. That is so because these individuals are most likely to adopt new technologies and partake in leisure pursuits. Per sector experts, tournaments like the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup see the highest wagering volume, and the nation’s gambling sphere gets expected to rake in $3.1 billion in 2025, growing at a rate of 2.59% annually.

Sports betting got legalized in Nigeria in the early 2000s, and now it seems to be most popular in the South-West and the South-South parts of the country. Leading operators include Bet9ja, Betway, and 22BET. Without question, Bet9ja is the local powerhouse, while Betway, endorsed by celebrities like Don Jazzy, dominates internationally. More than two-thirds of Nigerian gamblers bet on football, showing a passion for the English Premiership and Latin American leagues.

Kenya

Kenya is renowned for its many national parks and diverse wildlife. It is a leading safari destination, and not one usually synonymous with gambling. That said, this country with a population of fifty-five million expects to post gambling revenues of $1.21 billion in 2025, ones that show a swell by 2.08% yearly until 2029. The casino section of this sector has the highest projected market volume in 2025, at 768.56 million.

We talked about young people gambling in Nigeria above; that is a common trend throughout Africa, with Kenya boasting the highest percentage of young gamblers on the continent at 76%, with 96% of them playing/betting on their phones. A 2024 study posted by GeoPoll also showed that Kenya leads the continent in how many of its residents are gambling overall, at 82.8%, with South Africa in second place, with 73.9% of poll respondents noting they have bet in 2024. Various sources online have posted the stat that seven million Kenyans have a sportsbook account, but we could not verify where this information stemmed from, but we find this plausible.

The already high rate of gambling activity in Kenya is growing year-on-year, even with a 12.5% tax on winnings, which is a boosted one from a previous rate that stood at 7.5%, which managed to drive some operators out of the nation. Like in Nigeria, Betway and 22Bet are doing great here, and SportPesa is the preferred option for many residents, as this is a local brand, operated by a Kenyan-owned company – Milestone Games Limited.

Ghana

Ghana’s gambling market should reach $915 million this year, with the casino section responsible for two-thirds of these revenues. The average revenue per Ghanaian gambler, in 2025, should be $389, if we are to trust the estimates, and by 2029, this country should see around two and a half million active participants in gambling.

Sports betting in Ghana is now getting seen as a vital part of the nation’s entertainment ecosystem, and the significant debts that the Minister of Sports and Recreation has, like many others in the country, will likely lead to a search for sustainable financial partnership models with gambling operators for the growth of sports in Ghana. That is already happening, as the nation’s football association works with firms like BetPawa, which offers online sports wagering. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the betting sector will be the foundation of Ghana’s sports financing strategy. Established platforms over here are Betway, 22Bet, Betika, Betboro, and 1xBet.

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