Relat��rio de pesquisa de mercado de jogos da Tanz?nia de 2019: Principais descobertas

In a market report produced by Shikana Law Group, director Amne Suedi Kagasheki examines the gaming industry in Tanzania, including growth trends, key players, and consumer behavior

Tanzania’s gaming industry has established itself as an important sector in the country, which contributes more than 3% of the Gross Domestic Product. The gaming industry today is regulated by the Tanzania Gaming Board (GBT), established by the Gaming Act No. 4 of 2003. The GBT is responsible for supervising, monitoring, and regulating the conduct of all gambling activities in Tanzania. In the 2018/2019 fiscal year, the entire gaming industry contributed TZS 94.8 billion in tax revenues, up from TZS 78 billion in the 2017/2018 fiscal year. The Tanzanian gaming board attributes this 26.1% increase in tax revenue to the growth of technological innovation and an improved business environment. In addition, more than 20,000 people are directly employed by gaming companies in Tanzania, thus making it one of the important sources of employment.

This article offers an analysis of the key findings of the market report on the gaming industry in Tanzania, compiled by Shikana Group. The report aims to provide a rare and valuable insight into the different types of commercial gaming activities in Tanzania, including their growth trends, key market players, consumer behavior, potential risks, and all the factors driving the expansion of gambling in Tanzania.

The following are the key findings contained in the 2019 market report on the gaming industry in Tanzania:

In 2019, sports betting was the leading commercial gambling segment in terms of gross gaming revenue (GGR), overtaking retail 바카라s that were once the country’s main gambling activity. In the 2018/2019 fiscal year, the GGR of sports betting was approximately TZS 68.1 billion, with TZS 17.0 billion in gaming tax revenues. The popularity of sports betting has been driven by several enabling conditions, including the rapid evolution of smartphones, higher levels of internet and mobile penetration, increased advertising, the popularity of sports, and the widespread use of mobile money services.

A growing youth population has also played a major role in the growth of sports betting. According to the business insider.com, Tanzania is ranked as the 11th country in the world with the youngest population. Tanzania’s population is also projected to reach 89 million by 2035. This long-term demographic trend presents a potential market growth opportunity, for sports betting and the gaming industry in general. A survey conducted by Shikana Group shows that 89% of people who practice sports betting are between 18 and 34 years old. Tanzania’s young population is important to the gambling industry, especially sports betting, which mainly attracts younger generations.

Gaming Board offers licenses for both online and retail sports betting in Tanzania, although online sports betting has grown at a very rapid rate compared to retail sports betting. In 2019, there were 20 licensed operators for online sports betting, while retail sportsbooks had only 6 licensed operators. If online sports betting continues to grow at the same rate, then retail sports betting may slowly start to decline as cheap mobile phones continue to be widely available and internet penetration levels are expected to continue to increase. Eventually, most retail sports betting operators are expected to migrate fully online, possibly as early as 2025. Emerging technologies and general macroeconomic conditions will strongly influence the pace of this anticipated phase-out of retail sports betting operations.

The online sports betting market is dominated by three private operators: betPawa, M-Bet, and Sportspesa.

However, the growth of online sports betting has had its own challenges. Tanzania’s 2021/2022 national budget that was passed on June 24, 2021 introduced higher fees on mobile money transactions, which will undoubtedly impact iGaming. Tanzania and its neighboring countries are global leaders when it comes to the highest number of registered and active per capita mobile money accounts and the volume of mobile money. In September 2020 alone, a total of TZS 11.5 trillion was transacted through the six mobile money platforms of M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money, Halo Pesa, Ezy Pesa, and T-Pesa. The popularity of mobile money is largely due to the large number of subscribers and the widespread accessibility of the platform across the country. STM Gaming CEO Alessandro Pizzolotto sees the East African iGaming industry as a prime opportunity for gaming growth and expansion due to the popularity of mobile money usage in the region. (Source: European Games).

Online betting operators have already been taking advantage of these mobile money services, allowing bettors to place bets online using mobile money platforms such as M-pesa. In addition, upon winning, operators would deposit the total amount won into bettors’ mobile money accounts. This is why the recent dramatic increase in mobile money transaction fees is likely to have a negative impact on online gaming, as people are increasingly discouraged from using mobile money services and more bettors may prefer to place bets through retail operators to avoid these new charges. The current global COVID-19 pandemic could also negatively affect demand for online and retail sports betting in the short term, although it is unclear what the larger medium and long-term implications for the sports betting market may be.

In addition to the challenges mentioned above, the national sports betting market has remained very competitive. Sports betting operators, both retail and online, are increasingly competing for customers by offering bonuses and free bets or plays to new subscribers. Some operators have devised strategies to gain more customers by offering bonuses that cover or are higher than the taxes charged to customers on earnings. Billboards, sporting events, radio, online and transit advertising are the most common ways operators advertise their brands. Some operators have also used local celebrities and sports sponsorship to promote their respective brands. In addition, some operators have developed mobile sports betting apps to provide customers with relatively fast, cheap, and simple access to bet at their convenience. Some have also partnered with mobile network providers to allow their customers to bet using their mobile apps without incurring internet costs.

Tanzania’s recently approved national budget for 2021/2022 also reduced the gaming tax on winnings from 20% to 15%. This change will likely encourage more people to place bets, as they will have to pay lower taxes on the payout.

ONLINE CASINOS

Internet (online) 바카라s were the fastest-growing gaming activity in terms of gross gaming revenues (GGR) in the 2018/2019 financial year. Its GGR reached TZS 13.8 billion, marking a 97% increase year-over-year. This trend is expected to increase steadily in the coming years as more operators begin to integrate online 바카라s into their platforms and more users become aware of this new gambling activity. As of December 2019, there are six licensed internet 바카라 operators (only five of them are active).

The growth of internet 바카라s is a result of recent technological developments and the mass spread of mobile phones. Tanzanian gaming operators now have access to a wide range of customers who are not physically located in their city. New opportunities presented by the growing demand for online gaming services allow operators to expand from traditional brick-and-mortar operations.

The transition from physical to digital services has not only allowed gaming operators to broaden their customer base and thus increase their revenues; Simultaneously, it reduced operating costs such as labor, equipment, and property rental. With more and more operators migrating online, the growth potential of online gaming in Tanzania becomes dependent on the penetration rate of the home internet.

The number of internet users in Tanzania has steadily increased from seven million users in 2012 to over 25 million in 2019. As of December 2019, Tanzania’s internet penetration rate was estimated to be 46%. The increase in home internet users implies that gaming operators offering online services now have a wider customer base to turn to. At the same time, the rise of online gaming services also allows Tanzanian customers to play games privately and from the comfort of their homes rather than being required to go to a gaming retail store. Tanzanian consumers now have different options, from choosing from competing gaming operators to selecting which, from a wide range of online gaming activities, they want to enjoy. The presence of affordable smartphones is expected to continue to play a role in facilitating internet penetration.

According to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority’s (TCRA) quarterly statistics, in 2018, 96% of home internet users accessed the internet through a mobile network. Mobile phones, therefore, are not only an essential means of communication, but have also become the primary computing devices required to access the internet. The small but growing online 바카라 market presents an opportunity for potential investors.

Internet 바카라 operators have also started using “live” 바카라 games that have a live dealer instead of a random number generator (RNG). This allows players to see and hear the dealer as they shuffle, deal, and manage the entire game. Live 바카라 players can see the cards being shuffled and the roulette wheel spinning, as you would in a land-based 바카라 to create a more realistic remote gaming experience for customers who want to play at their convenience and privacy, but still want “reality” and a more immersive interactive experience. The leading players in the internet 바카라 market are iplay 8바카라, Meridianbet and Pmbet.

SMS LOTTERY

SMS lotteries have become increasingly popular in recent years. In the 2018/2019 financial year, the SMS lottery had a gross gaming revenue (GGR) of TZS 24.8 billion, making it the third-largest gaming activity in terms of GGR. Despite its popularity, the SMS lottery segment experienced the sharpest drop in revenue compared to other gaming activities in Tanzania. Its GGR fell from TZS 65.6 billion in the 2017/2018 financial year to TZS 24.8 billion in the 2018/2019 financial year. This equates to a 62.2% drop in GGR. There was also a 32.1% drop in actual sales revenue from TZS 90.8 billion in the 2017/2018 fiscal year to TZS 61.7 billion in the 2018/2019 fiscal year.

The above figures are indicative of the fact that SMS lottery activities experienced the largest reduction in revenue per percentage compared to all other commercial gaming activities. However, SMS lottery operators have an advantage that they can capitalize on. This advantage is that an internet connection is not required to participate in the draw. This means that a greater number of people can participate, even without a smart phone and without internet access.

There are four gaming companies that have been licensed by the Gaming Board of Tanzania (GBT) to operate SMS lotteries in Tanzania, all of which are active as of December 2019. These companies are Mobibet Company Limited / Biko, Lucky Games Ltd / Mojabet, The Network Limited / Tatu Mzuka, Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Interest and participation in all other gambling activities such as retail 바카라s, slots, and forty-machine sites can be expected to decline in the short term, owing to the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The larger medium- and long-term implications of the global pandemic on the Tanzanian gaming market as a whole remain unclear. While the immediate demand for online gaming may be reduced and likely to slow short-term growth, the medium- and long-term effects remain unclear. Based on the robust growth trends recorded in recent years, the Tanzanian online gaming market still represents a potential business opportunity of interest to potential investors.

To learn more about gaming in Tanzania, get the full market report on the gaming industry in Tanzania on the Shikana Group .

Read an interview with Amne in the latest issue of SiGMA Magazine.

SiGMA Calendar 2022

The year 2022 will see SiGMA Group launch in a number of promising locations, the first of which will be in Kenya, with Nairobi on the agenda for March. Here, we plan to tap into a market filled with sports fans and a young, digitally connected generation. We have also planned exhibitions for countries that are taking their first steps as regulated markets �C in June we will be heading to Toronto and Ukraine �C in what will be the first live events for the new SiGMA Americas and SiGMA CIS brands. Both countries are set to test the waters with operators and affiliates next year, making them a great venue for the SiGMA Group conference stage and bustling exhibition hall.