The post-pandemic period in Africa saw a boom in the iGaming industry. This industry’s success has been positively reflected in most markets, providing ample growth opportunities and numerous job positions for many African people. The success stories only seem to be piling up.
If further proof was needed that the iGaming industry in Africa has been steadily improving, the several recent collaborations between iGaming companies and local African celebrities are more than enough evidence.
Goliath Gaming Partners With Busisiwe “Busi96” Masango-Steenkamp
The most recent of these is the partnership between the casino and sportsbook giant Goliath Gaming and the young, up-and-coming FIFA superstar, Busisiwe “Busi96” Masango-Steenkamp. The 26-year-old first made her name by participating in the “FIFA Play Like A Girl” initiative, where she remained the last-standing player in the Queen of the Hill competition.
This success prompted the two experienced Goliath players, Julio “Beast” Bianchi and Thabo “YvngSavage” Moloi, to approach her, as they noticed the potential displayed in her playing style and tactics employed throughout the friendly competition.
This acclaim, in turn, prompted Siiwe to realize her own potential and consider pursuing a serious FIFA career from that point onwards. This is where Goliath Gaming stepped in.
They signed her up, essentially investing in her future FIFA career and sending a message to all interested African female FIFA players that the world is more than open to receiving their talent.
Interestingly enough, the reverse can also be claimed – the African iGaming industry is becoming a hot market now more than ever. Celebrity partnerships have been part and parcel of successful business endeavors by world-famous brands. By opting to recruit local talents, Goliath Gaming and similar platforms have started benefitting from an upwardly mobile African youth demographic.
PariDirect’s Collaboration With Sam Samouraï
However, Siiwe is neither the first nor the last celebrity to align themselves with a representative of the African iGaming industry. In fact, she comes right at the heels of Sam Samouraï, who collaborated with online gaming and sports betting platform Paridirect back in December 2021.
A Brazzaville native, Sam Samouraï, was born on the 19th of July, 2000, in Pointe-Noire, the Republic of Congo, as Josué Ulrich Mbemba. Throughout the years, he made a name for himself as a local young rapper, composer, and artist. After local social media audiences were enthralled by his songs “Sapo Gang” 2 and 3, his name became instantly associated with the contemporary Congolese youth.
As such, the decision to make him the face of Paridirect’s promotions was a no-brain decision, as Paridirect is the main – and only legitimate – iGaming platform available in the Republic of Congo. Paridirect was set up in Congo by its shareholder and co-owner of Veli Services, Gia Janashvili. 
Seeing how Janashvili saw plenty of potential for the development of the Pan African iGaming industry due to the majority of the population being below the age of 25, a collaboration with “a voice of the young locals” was the smartest move to make. Accepting the partnerships was also a wise decision on Samouraï’s part.
What This Means for the iGaming Industry in Africa
Like in Siiwe’s case, the faces of two growing industries are bound to benefit the most by establishing a bond and sharing each other’s successes. The iGaming industry in Africa has been making a reputation for itself as a market that’s essentially helping and saving many other industries, especially in the past few years.
Many young artists deem this an excellent opportunity to align with famous and influential names from this industry. This, along with the numerous news of other related iGaming partnerships in Africa, such as that between BetKind and IBIA or between Pragmatic Play and ChampionBet, makes every following collaboration much more significant.
As of recently, numerous online gambling and sports betting apps, compatible with both desktop and mobile devices, have become available to players all across Africa. Considering this, it is not surprising that experts predict a rapid increase in the number of consumers.
Conclusion
The decision to rely on young artists and faces/names that are famous among the youth of Africa seems to be one of the best conclusions that the iGaming industry has arrived at.
It is up to us to follow future developments closely and observe the changing tides of the global iGaming industry due to the increasingly influential status of African casino and betting markets.
