Leading sports betting and gaming supplier and B2B subsidiary of sportsbook operator, Offsidebet, Offsidegaming, has expanded their operations in Uganda, Africa. The company has extended its relationship with Worldstar Betting, the African gaming operator, for whom it has developed online and mobile solutions for its chain of 70 shops.
Offsidegaming Reveals Expansion Plans
This deal is the first step for Offsidegaming in a plan to expand in the region. The mobile sportsbook in Uganda is their first launch with the company revealing plans to expand into Ghana and Nigeria as well in 2014. These plans include the initial launch of retail operations, to be followed by online and mobile payment systems.
"Stepping in to the African market is a giant leap for us at Offside and we really can't wait to see it grow, "said Matthew Alexander, Chief Executive Officer at Offsidegaming. "Working with Worldstar Betting Uganda on a more in-depth basis is great and we are enjoying learning about this previously unknown market every day and seeing new trends that will be invaluable to us both. We will be launching a number of projects in Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana in the coming months using retail shop network for transactions and adding mobile payment systems in coming months."
While Offsidegaming already has strategic partnerships in key markets that include South America and Central and Eastern Europe; they have shifted a large portion of their focus to Africa. It provides many services including an all-encompassing resource for land-based operations, licensed operators and start-up companies.
The new mobile sportsbook is a specific version of its mobile website that was developed by Offsidegaming and which supports the Opera Mini browser, making the offering accessible to more than 200 million mobile devices in the area.
Gaming in Africa on the Rise
The gaming market in Africa is growing rapidly with the country seeing a 15% increase in Internet penetration and a 90% increase in mobile penetration in 2013. According to the latest figures, it is expected that by the end of 2014 almost 70% of users will have Internet access.
Despite this, Managing Director of Worldstar Betting Uganda, Michael Soze expressed his surprise at the volume of trading that the company has seen in the initial stages after the launch.
"There is a massive appetite for sports betting generally and we are looking forward to getting more projects launched in the African continent generally, "commented Soze.
