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Kesitilwe highlights a recent study by Gaming Compliance International that estimated around 77% of Africa’s gambling market is offshore.
He believes the success of Africa Safer Gambling Week will largely be assessed on whether that channelisation improves by the next edition.
He warns governments and policymakers often misunderstand the primary causes of problem gambling, and therefore enforce measures that squeeze licensed operators and drive the illegal market.
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Both LiveScore and Tombola, who were a part of the original 10 operators to receive a licence, exited the market in 2024.
Compared to the 2021 licensing round, the KSA adopted a more granular and stringent approach to its licence renewal process. This was expected following new policy rules set out by the regulator in September 2025.
One such rule was for licensees that had faced compliance enforcement during the five years operating in the Netherlands.
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This isn’t the first time this policy has been mooted in the Dutch parliament. A 2025 bill proposed raising the age for “higher-risk” activities like online slots.
Van Bruggen insisted more time was needed to establish whether an age limit hike to 21 would actually have the adverse effect of pushing young people in the Netherlands towards unlicensed offerings.
Among those pushing for the increased age limit were the SGP’s Diederik van Dijk and the CDA’s Tijs van den Brink.
