iGaming Business magazine iGB 112 Sept/Oct 2018 | Page 64

Africa Focus
Equally important is that we see regulators’ appetites as
being engaging and understanding rather than being prohibitive
and closing the door on gaming. There’s quite a big split
between the English-speaking and French-speaking nations,
and between East and West in terms of policy approach –
some are quite monopolistic, others are more open to the market
and commerce. But overall I would say the industry is moving
towards regulation rather than blocking it. Regulators see the
value in protecting their customers and they see the value in
benefi ting from tax collection.
“You’ve got to adapt ,
you’ve got to confi gure ,
you’ve got to be engaged with
the local audience and their specifi c needs”
What proportion of your business is now coming
from mobile?
As with everyone in the industry the majority of our business
is coming from mobile. Internally we have a mobile-fi rst approach.
We build for mobile, we market for mobile and this is because
this is where all of our customers are.
Do you think the growth in mobile is removing the need
for a retail presence in South Africa?
Most people would arguably agree with that thought. We challenge
it though because if you look at the growth in retail operators
opening up in South Africa over the last year or two it has exploded
and this is contrary to what you would expect with mobile becoming
a more acceptable form of engaging with commerce. Yet we see retail
shops opening aplenty so I think they are complementary. But we
don’t have any plans to go into retail.
How big a role is in-play enjoying now? Are there particular
sports it is most popular with?
In-play has been signifi cant for a number of years, probably
from before the 2010 World Cup. It is obviously always getting
bigger. In-play has become standard, it is not a ‘nice to have’ or
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iGamingBusiness | Issue 112 | September/October 2018
feature anymore, it is a non-negotiable. The things that consumers
are moving towards now are the bet builder and cash out options
and these are where you can still set yourself ahead of your
competitors. In terms of particular sports, in-play is popular
across the board.
What new technologies and products are having an impact
in South Africa at the moment?
I think you need to look at the landscape in general and consider
that you are transacting with consumers on a mobile phone or
website and this means that if you are not able to satisfy their
needs, they will take their business elsewhere. The competition is
only a fi nger tap or a mouse click away so you need to be positioned
to work with the technology and satisfy your customers’ needs. Tech
and product have a big impact but it is not just in our industry, it is in
ecommerce in general.
Do you think there is scope for foreign operators to
succeed in South Africa?
I think we’ve seen a number come and go but we’ve also seen
some successes. I think it is down to their localisation efforts.
As with any territory, you can’t put something in because it works
somewhere else and have a plug and play mentality and sit back
and wait. You’ve got to adapt, you’ve got to confi gure, you’ve got to
be engaged with the local audience and their specifi c needs.
You’ve also got to be able to communicate in their preferred
means of communication. Customers might like to have support
via WhatsApp but European operators won’t offer that –
WhatsApp is very popular here. Or they might want to talk in
their local language or a hybrid of their languages, so if a foreign
operator wants to succeed they are going to need to confi gure their
business model to fi t in with the local marketplace. It won’t just
work to take what works elsewhere.
Also, it’s a bit broader than foreign operators, it is also foreign
regulators and foreign industries that are starting to see value in
South Africa. We see ourselves being used as an example when
operators are looking at the States now. South Africa is one of
the few jurisdictions to operate within that same regulatory
framework as what is proposed in the States, where it is a federal
and state-by-state regulation, so it is a nice benchmark for operators
to look at and see what works. I know the regulators there are
talking closely to some of our regulators.