Bolabet launches Chatbet in Zambia, bringing WhatsApp betting to African markets
Chatbet debuts in Zambia, allowing customers to place sports bets through WhatsApp conversations without downloading a dedicated app.
Zambia.- Bolabet has launched Chatbet in Zambia, a WhatsApp-based sports betting platform that allows customers to receive odds and place wagers through text messages and voice notes, marking a notable step in the adoption of conversational betting technology in African gambling markets.
The new product enables bettors to interact with a sportsbook directly through WhatsApp, removing the need for a dedicated betting application, browser-based platform or data-heavy sportsbook. According to the company, users can send a message or voice note, receive betting odds and complete their wagers within a single conversation.
Chatbet was developed by Bola Group, which operates the Bolabet brand across Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. The product is live immediately in Zambia, with rollout to Zimbabwe and Malawi expected to follow. The company said the platform has been designed specifically for African markets, where data costs and accessibility remain significant barriers to digital betting adoption.
Powered by ChatLayer Media Technologies, the product supports betting across major sports and forms part of the operator’s wider digital growth strategy across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Group CEO Hilton Hasson said: “Our teams have spent six months working on something that has never existed in Africa before. WhatsApp is already in everyone’s pocket, data costs make traditional platforms a barrier, and sports betting in this market is still massively underserved digitally, and Chatbet solves all three.”
Hasson added: “The fact that it launches as the World Cup kicks off is no accident. This is the biggest sporting event on the planet and we are the only operator on this continent where a fan can place a bet via a voice note. This is a huge step forward for sports betting in Africa.”
Bolabet described Chatbet as Africa’s first WhatsApp-native sports betting product and said it is currently the only operator on the continent offering customers the ability to place bets through voice notes. The claims could not be independently verified.
The company said the launch forms part of its broader customer acquisition strategy and long-term vision for digital betting across Sub-Saharan Africa.
