Industry leaders gathered at the Sarit Expo to discuss sustainable growth and regulatory harmonisation across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Press release.- The inaugural iGaming AFRIKA Summit<\/strong> (IGA Summit 2026), East and Central Africa’s most significant convergence of gaming operators, regulators, technology innovators, and investors, officially opened yesterday (May 4) at the Sarit Expo, Nairobi. Spanning three days from May 4\u20136, 2026, the summit gathered senior industry voices from across the African continent and beyond to address the most pressing opportunities and challenges defining the region’s rapidly expanding gaming ecosystem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Themed around sustainable growth, regulatory harmonisation, and the digital transformation of\u00a0gaming<\/strong>, the IGA Summit 2026 features plenary keynote addresses, high-level panel discussions,\u00a0 exhibition showcases, and networking events designed to foster cross-border collaboration and policy dialogue across Africa’s gaming sector.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Summit was officially opened with a series of high-level keynote addresses <\/strong>that set a\u00a0confident and forward-looking tone. Jeremiah Maangi, CEO of iGaming AFRIKA, delivered the\u00a0opening speech, framing Africa’s gaming sector as one of the most compelling investment\u00a0frontiers of the decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeremiah Maangi<\/strong>, CEO, iGaming AFRIKA, said: “Africa’s gaming industry is no longer a frontier market; it is a growth market. The infrastructure is maturing, the talent is here, and the appetite from both operators and players has never been greater. The IGA Summit exists to ensure that growth is structured, inclusive, and lasting.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maangi underscored that the convergence of mobile penetration, a young population, and increasing disposable incomes across the continent presents a generational window of opportunity for operators, investors, and technology providers willing to commit to the African market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Summit Keynote Address was delivered by Peter Karimi, director general of the Gambling\u00a0Regulatory Authority (GRA) of Kenya. Speaking to a packed main stage, Karimi positioned smart\u00a0regulation not as a constraint on industry growth but as its most essential enabler, a sentiment\u00a0that resonated strongly with delegates from across the continent.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter Karimi<\/strong>, director general, GRA, said: “Effective regulation is not the enemy of growth. It is the foundation upon which sustainable\u00a0growth is built. Our mandate at the GRA is to create a framework that protects players, attracts\u00a0legitimate operators, and ensures that the benefits of this industry are felt across Kenya’s\u00a0economy. We are committed to building a regulatory environment that is clear, fair, and\u00a0 responsive to innovation.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Karimi highlighted Kenya’s progress in modernising its regulatory architecture, including ongoing efforts to strengthen licensing frameworks, combat illegal operators, and integrate responsible gaming standards into operator compliance requirements. He called on regional regulators to work collaboratively towards harmonised policies that reduce friction for pan-African operators while maintaining consumer protection standards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith technology, the pace is continuously changing, and both operators and regulators must\u00a0evolve very quickly either to catch up or stay ahead. The transition from the Betting Control and\u00a0 Licensing Board to the Gambling Regulatory Authority provides an opportunity via the Gambling\u00a0 Control Act for us to create a brand-new set of regulations to look after the industry, and the player\u00a0is at the cornerstone of the regulations and the law. So, player safety is at the front and centre of\u00a0what we are trying to achieve,\u201d Karimi added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joseph Kirui Limo, chairperson of the GRA, officially opened the Summit with a landmark address focused on the intersection of governance, taxation policy, and industry credibility. His remarks drew significant attention from the assembled regulators, operators, and policymakers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Joseph Kirui Limo<\/strong>, chairperson at the GRA: “<\/strong>Taxation and licensing are not merely revenue instruments; they are statements of intent by governments about what kind of gaming industry they want to build. When tax structures are\u00a0punitive or unpredictable, they drive operators underground and deprive governments of the very\u00a0revenues they seek. We must work together, regulators, operators, and governments to design\u00a0 tax frameworks that are competitive, transparent, and that incentivise compliance over evasion.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Limo’s address drew applause from industry stakeholders who have long called for greater policy predictability across African markets. He reaffirmed the GRA’s commitment to open dialogue with the private sector and to benchmarking Kenya’s regulatory approach against global best practices, particularly in the areas of digital gaming taxation and cross-border licensing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also in attendance was Mr Joseph Otieno, Kenya revenue authority chief manager ICT, Media,\u00a0 Telecommunications, Betting and Gaming Taxpayer Compliance, where he emphasised the\u00a0critical role of the players adhering to regulations, including taxation, where he also commended\u00a0the revenue growth in the gaming industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Joseph Otieno said: “As the Kenya Revenue Authority, we have been able to grow with the industry. We have transcended\u00a0 revenue collection, and as of FY2024\/25, we were able to collect Ksh 31 billion from just the betting\u00a0 and gaming sector, and that may have been due to legislation and tax regime that existed at the\u00a0time.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The event was also graced by the Nairobi County director for gaming, betting and lotteries, NCCG, Alvin Omuga<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr Omuga remarked on the rapid growth of the gaming industry across Africa and how Kenya and Nairobi, in particular, are at the forefront of things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis summit comes at a defining moment for the gaming industry in Africa<\/strong>. Across the continent,\u00a0 we are witnessing rapid growth driven by digital platforms, mobile technology and a young,\u00a0 dynamic population. Conversations around innovation, compliance and responsible gaming and the future of the industry have never been more important. It is therefore fitting that Nairobi, a City\u00a0at the heart of Africa’s transformation, hosts this dialogue,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The event also featured different panel discussions from key industry players from across the continent and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Panellists examined the fragmented nature of gaming regulation across Africa and the urgent need for harmonised licensing frameworks that facilitate legitimate cross-border operations. The discussion surfaced key tension points between national fiscal interests and the competitiveness of individual markets in attracting foreign direct investment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Denis Mudene Ngabirano<\/strong>, CEO, National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board, Uganda, said: “The fragmentation of African gaming regulation is one of the industry’s biggest challenges and one of its biggest opportunities. Every country that gets its regulatory and tax framework right becomes a magnet for investment. Those that do not will simply watch that investment and the revenue it generates go elsewhere.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter Emolemo Kesitilwe<\/strong>, CEO, African iGaming Alliance, added: “Harmonisation is not about surrendering national sovereignty; it is about creating the conditions in which African gaming can compete with the world. A unified approach to licensing standards and taxation reporting would dramatically reduce the cost of compliance for operators and dramatically increase the revenues governments can realistically collect.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Industry leaders gathered at the Sarit Expo to discuss sustainable growth and regulatory harmonisation across the continent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":24209,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":true,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The inaugural iGaming AFRIKA Summit 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, convened industry leaders, regulators, and investors to discuss sustainable growth, regulatory harmonisation, and digital transformation across the African gaming sector. Key figures from iGaming AFRIKA and Kenya's Gambling Regulatory Authority highlighted Africa's emergence as a growth market and the critical role of smart regulation in fostering industry expansion and player protection.","focusai_entities":"iGaming AFRIKA, Jeremiah Maangi, Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) of Kenya, Peter Karimi, Joseph Kirui Limo, Betting Control and Licensing Board","focusai_location":"Nairobi, Kenya, Africa","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.9), affiliate_publisher (0.7), tech_data (0.75), investor_analyst (0.98), supplier_vendor (0.85), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Africa Regulatory Harmonisation","query":"What specific policy initiatives or timelines are being discussed by African regulators to achieve cross-border harmonisation of iGaming licensing and operational standards?"},{"label":"Kenya GRA Impact","query":"How does the transition from the Betting Control and Licensing Board to the Gambling Regulatory Authority, under the new Gambling Control Act, specifically alter the compliance burden and market entry conditions for iGaming operators in Kenya?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60013,60156,60681],"tags":[60847],"class_list":["post-24208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-africa","category-events-articles","category-igaming-afrika-summit-2026","tag-igaming-afrika-summit-2026","press-release"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24208","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=24208"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24212,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24208\/revisions\/24212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Opening the door: Opportunity at the forefront<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Regulation as an enabler<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Governing the future <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Panel highlights: Regulation, licensing & taxation in focus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n