Nastia Karma, EvenBet Gaming: “Poker is no longer difficult to integrate, operate, and promote to sportsbook and casino players”

Nastia Karma, Regional Market Lead Africa at EvenBet Gaming, dives into online poker performance and perspectives in Africa and explains how this complex vertical may be adapted for sportsbook-first markets.

Exclusive interview.- As online poker seeks renewed momentum in mobile-first, sportsbook-dominated markets, Africa is emerging as a region of both complexity and opportunity. In this exclusive interview with Focus Gaming News, Nastia Karma, regional market lead Africa at EvenBet Gaming, explores how the company is adapting poker formats to local connectivity realities, regulatory nuances and player acquisition dynamics across the continent.

EvenBet has established strong partnerships with top-tier operators in South Africa, like Hollywoodbets. How has the integration of poker influenced their overall offering and player retention?

When we partnered with Hollywoodbets and several other African sportsbooks, the demand for online poker and the player interest were already there. Without underestimating the quality of our product, I need to stress that Hollywoodbets did everything by the book to promote the new offering: they highlighted poker in the lobby, created localised promotions, and kept working on poker-targeted marketing campaigns. Together with our customer success expertise that we provide continuously to all our clients, they have achieved significant progress in making poker discoverable for players and successful.

It’s very important to mention that our work with operators doesn’t stop after integration and launch. We provide lifetime support and proactive business insights, and test improvements together. EvenBet Gaming’s goal is to make poker a steady and growing revenue source and retention tool, and that demands that we keep improving the operator’s offering.

While poker is a classic, it presents unique challenges compared to slots or sports betting. What are the main obstacles you’ve encountered when introducing a poker vertical to established African operators?

The position of online poker across Africa is slightly controversial. Sports betting plays a dominant role, and casino games are at the stage of active discovery in most markets, but we haven’t yet seen much poker offered by local operators. Does that mean that this vertical is non-existent? Absolutely not. For years now, offshore giants have been providing poker games in the markets where internet penetration allows for low enough latency – South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Northern Africa, and others. And according to publicly available data, the revenue share of the poker vertical in Africa is just slightly lower than the global online average – 3-5 per cent compared to 5-8 per cent.

However, local operators are already conscious of the challenges that poker integration might present. These are moderate to low high-speed internet penetration, older mobile devices, and low knowledge of poker games in many markets. The good news is that EvenBet Gaming is working to find solutions for all these issues. We have already adapted our poker solutions for “typical African” mobile internet reality, ensuring that loading time and game performance wouldn’t suffer from something like a 3G connection or a smartphone with Android 10.

And our newest solutions – One Click Poker cash games and Spins Poker tournaments – are designed to speed up poker onboarding for casual players, bettors, and casino audiences, without requiring a new player to know all possible poker games, features, or tournament types.

“The position of online poker across Africa is slightly controversial.”

Nastia Karma, regional market lead Africa at EvenBet Gaming.

You mentioned “One Click Poker” and “Spins Poker.” How do these fast-paced products specifically address the preferences and connectivity habits of the African mobile player?

One Click Poker was created as a result of EvenBet Gaming’s work with operators in Africa and other emerging markets. Sportsbook and casino players are an especially difficult audience for poker cross-selling. When they see a complex poker room lobby, they might often get confused by the game choice, and we decided to make playing poker a frictionless experience. They instantly join a cash poker table that is customised to their needs. One Click Poker supports player segmentation, so an operator can create tables with targeted stakes, game types, and speed according to the player preferences. This solution fits perfectly into the casino lobby; it is the most newbie-friendly poker solution that we have created at EvenBet.

Spins Poker has proven its absolute compatibility with sportsbooks. The Spin & Go poker tournament format has already been tested by sportsbooks across European and North African markets, showing notable retention and revenue-boosting potential. Due to short gaming sessions and random prize multipliers, it is extremely appealing for mobile-first players and those who are attracted by its jackpot-style mechanics.

“Spins” poker has been a game-changer globally. How do you see this format performing in African markets where “instant-win” style games are seeing massive growth?

This poker tournament format is the closest to instant win mechanics. In just 3 to 5 minutes, a player can win up to 1000x his bet. But contrary to casino games, poker adds social and community elements; these are real players you play against. In many emerging markets, including Africa, this is a missing retention level, allowing an operator to build a loyal community around their brand.

With the online poker vertical evolving, which African jurisdictions do you believe are currently providing the most robust and promising frameworks for operators?

If we look at where poker and casino can scale sustainably, we usually evaluate three things: demand and spending power, infrastructure (payments + connectivity), and the direction of regulation. In Africa, the legal “trajectory” often matters as much as the law on paper.

South Africa is an obvious standout in terms of player base, brand maturity, and operational standards. It has strong conditions for poker and casino growth, but regulation is still the main limiter for interactive products. In the last weeks, the National Gambling Board has reiterated its position on remote/interactive gambling infrastructure (including Remote Gambling Servers), which keeps uncertainty high and pushes some operators towards legal “workarounds” instead of long-term product planning. At the same time, the policy conversation is clearly active: National Treasury has been running a formal consultation around a national online gambling tax discussion paper, which signals that the framework is being debated at a higher level.  

Nigeria is a different story: regulation remains fragmented, but the market continues to boom — huge scale, mobile-first behaviour, and extremely fast adoption of new formats. For poker, the opportunity is massive, but localisation, payment discipline, and responsible gaming controls must be built in from day one. 

Then you have markets that are exciting because they are actively building a more structured environment. Kenya is a strong example: the recent legislation in 2025 replaced the old framework and explicitly targets modern gambling formats, including online, which is exactly the kind of “direction” providers and operators look for. Ghana is also sending clear signals. Angola is worth watching as well: regulators have been talking about stronger oversight mechanisms, including initiatives around payment monitoring and broader compliance coordination. For providers, these “building” markets are often the most attractive — you can grow together with operators and create a long-term roadmap instead of chasing short-term loopholes.

Beyond South Africa, which specific markets across the continent are currently at the top of EvenBet’s priority list for 2026?

All those I have already mentioned: they all have a ready-made infrastructure for online poker and casino growth, and the regulation is moving forward, however slowly in some cases. There are also a few other countries worth watching, like Tanzania, Ethiopia, or the whole region of West Africa. The changes can happen anytime, and providers like EvenBet Gaming should be ready to adapt their offerings to the new markets opening.

As you open your first booth at SiGMA Africa, what is the main message you want to convey to potential local partners regarding the future of online poker in the region?

That poker is no longer difficult to integrate, operate, and promote to sportsbook and casino players. Even in the emerging regions, and even if your audience knows very little about the game. We at EvenBet Gaming are here to show you how.