Online sports betting is more popular than ever around the globe, making it a perfect time for betting organisations to launch into new markets. Let’s take a look at some of the most promising new directions with STATSCORE.
1. Africa – Betting markets boosted by the youth up from Nigeria down to South Africa
Africa is a land of sports fans. Millions of them are not only playing football, watching matches on TV, supporting local and European teams, but they’re also increasingly willing to place bets on sporting events. This trend has its roots in the rapid expansion of the Internet, which in turn has been boosted by the proliferation of smartphones.
According to data from GeoPoll, over a half (54%) of young people in six African countries (South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya) have tried gambling. In fact, in sub-Saharan Africa, betting has become a multi-billion dollar business.
While many African countries still have in place severe legal restrictions related to betting and gambling, and in others (as in Kenya recently) governments have been trying to curb betting, the continent remains one of the most promising places for betting organisations.
2. USA – new states make sports betting legal
In 2018 the American Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on sports betting. That ruling made online gambling legal at the national level while leaving each state with the right to decide on their own about allowing or restricting it within their borders.
Since that ruling was issued, many states, such as New Jersey and Nevada, have passed legislation to legalise betting. The latest to do so was Colorado, which a few days ago became the 19th state to legalise sports betting.
American market keeps opening up to betting, and there can be no doubt that it has an enormous potential. However, betting organisations have to keep in mind that legal restrictions will always vary among different states, and that some places will probably keep the ban in force.
3. Argentina opens up to betting
With over 400 million people living on the continent, South America presents a massive opportunity for gambling and betting.
The first and most well-established betting market exists in Colombia, which legalised gambling in 2016.
Who’s going to be next? Most observers keep their eyes on Argentina, where the province of Buenos Aires, and then the city of Buenos Aires itself, passed a law that regulates online betting. The market is certainly picking up speed, and if other provinces of Argentina follow the country’s capital, it may soon become one of the biggest markets on the continent.
4. Brazil – incredible potential for betting organisations
Brazil is well-known as one of the most sport-loving countries in the world. Now, it is also opening up to betting opportunities.
The country is currently undergoing a process of regulating its betting market, which was formally legalised in 2018. It is expected that the regulation will be completed before the end of 2019, and then the license-granting process will begin.
This is huge news as it will give 200 million people access to legal betting market. If everything goes as expected, the opportunities for betting organisations on that market will be massive!
5. Ukraine – a country that’s hungry for betting
Ukraine banned gambling and betting in 2009, which only led to the growth of its black market, as Ukrainians were not willing to give up on it. Now the country is crafting a bill that would legalise betting, which is expected to add $121.9m to the country’s budget.
Though the details of the final regulations are still unknown, it is surely one of the markets worth observing by betting organisations around the world.
Interested with the new directions in which your organisation may develop? Get in touch to find out more, contact our Customer Success Team at cst@statscore.com or use the LiveChat service on our website. We will be more than happy to schedule a call and discuss how we can help your organisation!
