{"id":33349,"date":"2026-09-15T09:23:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T12:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/?p=33349"},"modified":"2026-09-15T09:57:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T12:57:19","slug":"graf-2026-opens-in-maputo-as-ai-takes-regulatory-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/graf-2026-opens-in-maputo-as-ai-takes-regulatory-spotlight","title":{"rendered":"GRAF 2026 opens in Maputo as AI takes regulatory spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First-day sessions examined smarter regulation, AI-driven risks, cybersecurity and the role of independent testing in gambling oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mozambique.- The <strong>17th annual Gaming Regulators Africa Forum (GRAF)<\/strong> Conference has opened in <strong>Maputo, Mozambique<\/strong>, with artificial intelligence (AI) and technology featuring prominently on the regulatory agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conference is taking place from September 14 to 17 at the <strong>Joaquim Chissano International Conference Centre<\/strong>. The opening programme included a <strong>Parade of Nations<\/strong>, with the flags of participating countries displayed at the venue before Mozambique\u2019s national anthem was played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A key session on the first day was delivered by <strong>Lungile Dukwana,<\/strong> acting chief executive officer of South Africa\u2019s National Gambling Board (NGB), under the title \u201cSmarter Regulation for a Changing Gambling Industry.\u201d His presentation covered the expansion of online betting, the emergence of new gambling products and technologies, shifts in consumer behaviour and the regulatory risks associated with these developments. He also discussed how research, technology and data can support more informed regulatory decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Player protection was another focus of the opening discussions. <strong>Sibongile Simelane-Quntana<\/strong>, executive director of the National Responsible Gambling Programme (NRGP), challenged delegates to consider how technology, big data and AI could be used to strengthen gambling-harm prevention and player protection beyond basic compliance requirements. She emphasised the need for regulatory approaches to keep pace with changes in gambling technology while maintaining prevention and player protection as central objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The day also featured a masterclass by <strong>Gaming Laboratories International (GLI)<\/strong> on innovation and sustainability in the gaming ecosystem. The session addressed AI and cybersecurity risks, technical standards and the role of independent testing laboratories in providing regulators with objective assessments of compliance and cybersecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The programme will continue with more sessions examining AI and gambling regulation, illegal online gambling, responsible gambling and regulatory alignment across African jurisdictions. The forum will also feature the inaugural <strong>GRAF Regulatory Excellence Awards 2026<\/strong>, recognising individuals and organisations for their contributions to gaming regulation across Africa.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\t<div id=\"see-also-container\">\r\n\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label\">See also:<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"related-article\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"related-article__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/09\/BOTSWANA-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"related-article__text\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label-strong\">See also:<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/botswana-gambling-authority-strengthens-ai-and-digital-gaming-oversight\">Botswana Gambling Authority strengthens AI and digital gaming oversight<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>First-day sessions examined smarter regulation, AI-driven risks, cybersecurity and the role of independent testing in gambling oversight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2395,"featured_media":10638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The 17th Gaming Regulators Africa Forum (GRAF) in Maputo, Mozambique, centered on the critical intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), technology, and gambling regulation. Discussions focused on developing \"smarter regulation\" for evolving online betting and new products, leveraging AI and data for enhanced player protection, and addressing cybersecurity risks and technical standards through independent testing. The forum underscored the imperative for regulatory frameworks to adapt to technological advancements while upholding robust governance and player safety.","focusai_entities":"Gaming Regulators Africa Forum, GRAF, Lungile Dukwana, National Gambling Board, NGB, Sibongile Simelane-Quntana, National Responsible Gambling Programme, NRGP, Gaming Laboratories International, GLI","focusai_location":"Maputo, Mozambique, South Africa, Africa","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.95), operator_casino (0.9), product_ux (0.85), tech_data (0.98), payments_fraud_aml (0.75), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.95), journalist_researcher (0.98)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"AI Regulatory Frameworks","query":"What specific policy recommendations or regulatory frameworks are emerging from GRAF regarding the governance and oversight of AI applications within the African iGaming sector?"},{"label":"Cross-Jurisdictional Alignment","query":"How will the discussions on regulatory alignment at GRAF translate into concrete, harmonized technical standards or licensing requirements across participating African jurisdictions, particularly concerning new technologies and player protection?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60019,60011],"tags":[61214,60168,60083],"class_list":["post-33349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulation-news","category-south-africa","tag-ai-and-technology","tag-cybersecurity","tag-player-protection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33349","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\/2395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33349"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33352,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33349\/revisions\/33352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}