Overcoming hurdles
HONORÉ GAMING: CREATING THE NEXT BOOM IN THE AFRICAN MARKET A VAST CONTINENT with a
large, young and sports enthused population, it is unsurprising that Africa poses great potential as an emerging betting market with a strong growth rate, albeit with some local hurdles in areas of regulation and payments in particular
BY TED ORME-CLAYE
W
ith the global betting industry keenly focused on developments in North America, it could be argued that the opportunities posed by emerging markets in Africa and Latin America are being overlooked. Discussing his experience and providing insights on the African betting industry, Honoré Gaming’s CEO, Cyril Casanova, highlighted the ‘strong potential’ but also challenges present in this ‘underestimated’ market. SBC: Can you tell us about Honoré Gaming and which markets are your core focus? CC: Honoré Gaming is a wellestablished brand with a strong presence in French-speaking African countries, in particular nations where French horse racing is very popular. Historically, our footprint has been in French speaking Africa and we are in a very strong position there. During the last two years, we have been focused on adjusting our platform to be competitive and adapted to Englishspeaking markets.
16 SBC LEADERS • MARCH 2022
Cyril Casanova, Honoré Gaming’s CEO
We entered Nigeria last year and have deployments scheduled in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and will launch in South Africa this year once we receive certification. SBC: What makes African betting markets unique when compared with other emerging sectors? CC: The underlying growth that these markets represent sets them apart, as well as a young population who are open to betting as a form of
entertainment. We are talking about markets where there are very few ways to entertain. Betting creates a lot of jobs, and so in Africa it is an industry that has a very different image to some other regional betting sectors. Also, there is a lot of passion for soccer in many nations, so betting shops provide an opportunity to watch matches whilst providing added entertainment. We estimate that the underlying organic growth of the Sub-Saharan
