What the Data Indicates About the Factors Driving Ghana’s Rising Adoption of Online Casinos
There’s a notable surge in the number of online casino players in various African countries, including Ghana. Actually, there are more iGaming operations on the continent, especially in South Africa and Ghana, which, with Kenya, have the richest and fastest-growing iGaming markets. Compared to the same business just three years ago, both gambling at online casinos and sports betting have risen significantly throughout African iGaming markets.
Put another way, a growing number of gamers started choosing online alternatives over the longer-standing land-based casinos. The popularity of online casinos and sports betting websites has increased, with the coronavirus epidemic being one of the main causes. Furthermore, state-of-the-art technologies and a notable surge in digitalization throughout the continent have contributed to the remarkable growth of online casino gaming in Ghana and many other African countries.
The government of Ghana has performed research that indicates an increase in the number of young people in the country who play at online casinos. Online gambling among Ghanaian adolescents is one of the research areas that has gotten the least attention (we’ll talk about this a bit later). Most study focuses on the relationships that young people have with politics, education, development, and the workforce.
South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria are the top three countries on the continent with the highest concentration of gamblers, according to a different study on Africa’s gaming market. Ghana comes in eighth. Being in the 10 countries in Africa with the largest population of gamblers isn’t entirely unexpected given the country’s loose iGaming legislation and regulations. Ghana is one of the richest iGaming industries in the continent, yet over 80% of gamblers in the stunning Savanna-filled continent are from South Africa.
Ghanaian Gambling Statistics: What They Tell Us
In Ghana, gambling is commonly accepted. This has led to estimates that 45% of the country’s population has gambled at one time or another. The youth demographic of the nation fuels the expansion of sports and casino gambling. Between the ages of 19 and 34, approximately 30 million Ghanaians gamble on sports and casino games.
The complexities of underage gambling have drastically changed in the modern day. The sector is now largely online, over 80%. Therefore, it isn’t necessary to visit any store to place a wager. With the rise of Internet gambling, one would assume that the problem of gambling among minors has greatly decreased. After all, before a customer can open an account for betting on their website, the sports betting firms need to authenticate them. Before placing an online wager, a gambler must also have a mobile banking account.
As of right now, any person under the age of 18 can’t register to open a mobile money account. Evidence has demonstrated that underage gambling does exist, though. Some operators have not properly executed the stringent KYC processes imposed by the Anti-Money Laundering Act. Furthermore, research indicates that a significant number of moms in peri-urban regions, particularly those who are illiterate or semi-literate, give their children access to their mobile phones so they can manage their accounts for mobile money on their behalf. These moms are unaware that their kids utilize their smartphones and mobile wallets to make online wagers.
Research to determine the extent of illicit gambling on all the different Internet platforms is currently lacking. Still, it’s one too many if even one kid is betting online. In order to effectively address the issue from its source, the Gaming Commission needs to collaborate extensively with GHASBO (Ghana Association of Sport Betting Operators) and other relevant parties to accurately identify the problem.
The industry that was established as a result of the Casino Licensing Act of 1973, the Gambling Machines Act of 1960, and the Lotteries Betting Act of 1960 seems to be thriving at the moment. If you ask people in charge of the top online casinos in Ghana, they will tell you that there are many different gambling options available to Ghanaians, notably sports betting, slots, bingo, and lotteries. This suggests that the industry has a great deal of untapped potential, as does the large number of physical and online suppliers.
The Home of Online and Offline Casinos
Ghana is happy to allow operators of online and land-based casinos to conduct business there. Many physical casinos also offer more enticing features to their guests, such as dining options and bathing areas. There are numerous real casinos spread out over the country. The nation’s capital, Accra, is home to six genuine casinos.
In Ghana, gambling is widespread and not limited to physical venues. The web-based gaming and sports betting businesses are also booming. As a result, although most bettors only utilize a few of the most well-known ones, over 250 gambling portals are operating in the entire nation.
Gambling’s Impact on Ghana’s Economy
In Ghana, net gaming revenue (NGR) from sports betting alone is about $3.5 million monthly. The government takes taxes on about 17.5% of this. The gaming business generated GHS450 million in taxes for the government between 2019 and 2022. A great deal more needs to be gathered still.
The Ghanaian Gaming Commission is currently working on a new set of laws for the gaming industry in an effort to maximize profits. This effort was motivated by the estimate that leakages in the industry cost the nation $300 million Ghana cedis, or over $26 million, annually in lost revenue.
The gaming sector has grown to be a significant source of income for the Ghanaian government. The government has turned its attention to the gaming business in an attempt to boost revenue due to the poor economic conditions facing the nation. The Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2023 (Act 1094) was passed by the Ghanaian Parliament in April of 2023. It created a 20-percent gaming revenue tax, among other things. Additionally, it imposed a 10% tariff on casino sector winnings. Sources inside the Ghana Revenue Authority claim that the government of Ghana hopes to collect GHS1 billion in immediate taxes from the gaming sector each year.
According to the GHASBO, the gaming business spends GHS200 million a year on advertising within Ghana. This estimate is modest. In fact, the industry’s processor charges bring in millions of cedis for Ghana’s telecom firms. In 2019, the gaming sector generated the single greatest mobile banking sign-ups in the country consequently aiding the government’s fiscal inclusion and digitalization drive.
The Prospects for Ghana’s Online Gaming Industry
According to the most recent forecasts, the gaming industry in Africa is expected to grow by 5% to 12% over the next five years. The primary forces behind the industry’s expansion are the accessibility and popularity of mobile gaming devices. The majority of young people worldwide live in African nations, and younger people wager more on mobile devices there. The youth of Ghana are vital to the future of the nation’s online gaming industry.
Several international online sportsbooks and casinos, including Betway, 22Bet, and 888 Casino, have their headquarters in Ghana. This suggests that trustworthy, successful, and established foreign companies offer Ghanaian gamers amazing opportunities. In Ghana, there are now 31 authorized sports betting businesses. There are now 31 licensed companies, up from just 12 a few years ago. This suggests that players from Ghana won’t have any trouble finding a reliable online casino to enjoy playing slot machines, traditional table games, and other popular games.
As more and more international businesses expand their operations in Ghana, the country’s online gaming industry seems to have a bright future. The African online gaming market is expected to grow at the highest rate in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, where there are the greatest numbers of youth. The most revenue-generating online gaming sector across Africa is based in South Africa. The most recent forecasts predict that in two years, the nation’s overall gaming income will reach $2 billion.
Based on estimated gross revenue from gaming for 2020, Nigeria has the most financially viable market in the sub-Saharan region. Two more African countries that offer good gaming circumstances to international operators are Tanzania and Kenya. A thorough iGaming regulatory framework has been the goal of the Ghana Gaming Commission, which is in charge of most of the nation’s gaming activities. Although it is not the largest, the online gaming market in Ghana is the steadiest and is expected to grow.
Final Thoughts
Like many other industries, the gambling industry in Ghana has been impacted by epidemiological limits, especially concerning brick-and-mortar facilities. Nonetheless, gambling online is still very popular. As we previously stated, Ghana is currently among the top 10 African gaming locations, and it looks like this trend will continue.
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All things considered, it can be said that the gaming sector has the ability to support both deeper economic expansion and government income collection. This is a field whose time has come in Ghana, and the nation ought to participate in its rewards. According to research by GHASBO, Ghanaians are already using foreign sports betting websites—referred to as “black sites”. These are foreign sports betting sites that aren’t governed in Ghana. It would be preferable if Ghana could grow our industry to make sure that they reduce the flight of capital that’s linked to betting on foreign, unregulated, black sites and instead entice Internet bettors to use Ghana’s licensed sports betting and casino marketplaces.
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