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?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe 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\u2019t 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 \u2013 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 \u2013 3-5 per cent compared to 5-8 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 \u201ctypical African\u201d mobile internet reality, ensuring that loading time and game performance wouldn\u2019t suffer from something like a 3G connection or a smartphone with Android 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And our newest solutions \u2013 One Click Poker cash games and Spins Poker tournaments<\/strong> \u2013 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n“The position of online poker across Africa is slightly controversial.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nastia Karma, regional market lead Africa at EvenBet Gaming.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nOne Click Poker was created as a result of EvenBet Gaming\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“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?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis poker tournament format is the closest to instant win mechanics<\/strong>. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWith the online poker vertical evolving, which African jurisdictions do you believe are currently providing the most robust and promising frameworks for operators?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIf 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 \u201ctrajectory\u201d often matters as much as the law on paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa <\/strong>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 \u201cworkarounds\u201d 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\nNigeria <\/strong>is a different story: regulation remains fragmented, but the market continues to boom \u2014 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThen you have markets that are exciting because they are actively building a more structured environment. Kenya<\/strong> 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 \u201cdirection\u201d providers and operators look for. Ghana <\/strong>is also sending clear signals. Angola <\/strong>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 \u201cbuilding\u201d markets are often the most attractive \u2014 you can grow together with operators and create a long-term roadmap instead of chasing short-term loopholes.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBeyond South Africa, which specific markets across the continent are currently at the top of EvenBet\u2019s priority list for 2026?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nAll 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThat 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":19398,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":true,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"EvenBet Gaming's Nastia Karma discusses the strategic adaptation of online poker for Africa's mobile-first, sportsbook-dominated markets. The interview highlights how EvenBet Gaming addresses connectivity challenges and player onboarding through tailored products like \"One Click Poker\" and \"Spins Poker,\" aiming to establish poker as a key revenue and retention vertical for local operators like Hollywoodbets.","focusai_entities":"Nastia Karma, EvenBet Gaming, Hollywoodbets, Focus Gaming News","focusai_location":"Africa, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Northern Africa","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (0.7), operator_casino (1.0), product_ux (0.9), tech_data (0.8), marketing_crm (0.9), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (1.0), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Africa Poker ROI","query":"What is the projected Return on Investment (ROI) for operators integrating online poker in African markets, considering the initial investment in platform adaptation and localised marketing versus the 3-5% revenue share?"},{"label":"Regulatory Frameworks","query":"How do the specific regulatory frameworks and licensing requirements across key African jurisdictions (e.g., South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya) impact the scalability and operational compliance of a poker vertical?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60156,60301,60157,60011],"tags":[372,60836],"class_list":["post-19397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-articles","category-interviews","category-sigma-africa-2026","category-south-africa","tag-evenbet-gaming","tag-sigma-africa-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19397"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19403,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19397\/revisions\/19403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}