{"id":9316,"date":"2025-09-29T05:23:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T08:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/?p=9316"},"modified":"2026-04-19T13:29:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T16:29:40","slug":"african-lotteries-and-horse-racing-unite-in-casablanca-for-grand-prix-dafrique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/african-lotteries-and-horse-racing-unite-in-casablanca-for-grand-prix-dafrique","title":{"rendered":"African lotteries and horse racing unite in Casablanca for Grand Prix d\u2019Afrique"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Grand Prix d&#8217;Afrique illustrates the vitality of the partnership between ALA and SOREC and confirms Morocco\u2019s unifying role on the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Morocco.- <strong>Casablanca <\/strong>played host to the fourth edition of the <strong>Grand Prix d&#8217;Afrique<\/strong>, held from <strong>September 11 to 13, 2025<\/strong>, marking the event&#8217;s first appearance in the city after <strong>three years in Marrakech<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Organised by Morocco&#8217;s <strong>Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Horse (SOREC)<\/strong> and the <strong>African Lotteries Association (ALA)<\/strong>, the gathering drew delegations from <strong>13 countries<\/strong> to celebrate horse racing and discuss advancements in lotteries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The event kicked off at <strong>Bouskoura&#8217;s Cit\u00e9 du Cheval<\/strong>, an 87-hectare site with <strong>400 stables and 4.4 kilometres<\/strong> of training tracks. SOREC General Director <strong>Omar Skalli <\/strong>led a guided tour for attendees, including <strong>Ahmed El Bouari<\/strong>, Morocco&#8217;s Minister of Agriculture, and ALA President, Dramane Coulibaly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Skalli highlighted the move to Casablanca as a way to expand the event&#8217;s influence and connect participants more closely. He said: \u201cThe Grand Prix d&#8217;Afrique is growing into a vital event for stakeholders in African horse racing and lotteries. By holding it in Casablanca for the first time, the 2025 edition shows our commitment to expanding the event&#8217;s reach and building stronger connections among all the delegations.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coulibaly added: &#8220;The Grand Prix d&#8217;Afrique illustrates the vitality of the partnership between ALA and SOREC and confirms Morocco&#8217;s unifying role on the continent. This edition reflects our shared ambition to support innovation and the transformation of African lotteries to deliver a modern and responsible experience.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second day&#8217;s programme featured seminars at the Cit\u00e9 du Cheval, under the theme <strong>&#8220;African Lotteries: New Distribution Challenges for a Better Customer Experience&#8221;<\/strong>.<strong> <\/strong>Discussions explored strategies to improve customer access via both physical and digital channels, with a spotlight on leveraging artificial intelligence to streamline operations and cater to the unique needs of the African market. Experts from the industry shared ideas on modernisation and responsibility in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The event concluded on 13 September with a race day at the <strong>Casa-Anfa Racecourse<\/strong>, featuring eight prize-giving ceremonies that drew large crowds and showcased skilled riders and horses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Omar Lakjal rode Lity Hiro to win the SOREC Prize, while Kacem Faddoul claimed the PMU Prize on Boltril. Zouhair Madihi took the African Fraternity Prize aboard Dunapolis and later secured the top honour in the Grand Prix d&#8217;Afrique on Casa de Campo.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"see-also-container\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label\">See also:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-article\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"related-article__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/09\/photo-1593453917923-c3f751aab514-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"related-article__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"see-also-label-strong\">See also:<\/span> <a href='https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/moroccos-national-lottery-authority-strengthens-global-gambling-role-in-switzerland'>Morocco\u2019s National Lottery Authority strengthens global gambling role in Switzerland<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Grand Prix d&#8217;Afrique illustrates the vitality of the partnership between ALA and SOREC and confirms Morocco\u2019s unifying role on the continent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2395,"featured_media":9319,"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 fourth Grand Prix d\u2019Afrique, hosted in Casablanca, underscored the strategic partnership between SOREC and ALA, affirming Morocco's pivotal role in African gaming. The event focused on modernizing African lotteries, addressing new distribution challenges through digital channels and AI, and enhancing customer experience while ensuring responsible operations. This gathering highlighted regional collaboration and innovation within the lottery vertical.","focusai_entities":"ALA, African Lotteries Association, SOREC, Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Horse, Omar Skalli, Ahmed El Bouari, Morocco\u2019s Minister of Agriculture, Dramane Coulibaly, Omar Lakjal, Kacem Faddoul, Zouhair Madihi, Lity Hiro, Boltril, Dunapolis, Casa de Campo","focusai_location":"Morocco, Casablanca, Marrakech, Bouskoura, Cit\u00e9 du Cheval, Casa-Anfa Racecourse, Africa","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (0.9), compliance_legal (0.85), operator_casino (0.8), product_ux (0.9), tech_data (0.9), marketing_crm (0.85), payments_fraud_aml (0.75), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.9), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"AI in African Lotteries","query":"What specific AI applications are being considered to address distribution challenges and enhance customer experience within the African lottery market, and what are the projected implementation timelines?"},{"label":"Regulatory Frameworks Impact","query":"How are African regulatory bodies, in collaboration with organizations like ALA and SOREC, adapting governance frameworks to accommodate the modernization of lottery distribution channels, particularly with the integration of digital platforms and AI?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[60010,60017],"tags":[935,74],"class_list":["post-9316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-north-africa","category-sportsbetting-news","tag-horse-racing","tag-lottery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9316","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=9316"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9345,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9316\/revisions\/9345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}