Special mention for Botswana as Betway rakes P9bn in Africa

Mbongeni Mguni | Wednesday November 12, 2025 14:53

The numbers confirm the wild take-off of online sports betting since the licencing of several operators by the Gambling Authority earlier this year. The numbers equally confirm the revenue windfall available to gambling companies that have identified Africa as the new global frontier for growth.

In results published on Tuesday, Betway noted that Africa accounted for 64% of its total revenues of $1,014 billion for the first nine months of the year.

“Botswana continues to show exceptional momentum post-launch,” the group said in a results announcement from New York.

Super Group CEO, Neal Menashe, confirmed the group’s joy at Botswana’s growth since Betway launched services in February.

“Botswana remains a standout with continued momentum since launch,” he said during an investor call on Tuesday.

Super Group’s chief financial officer, Alinda van Wyk, said the growth seen in Botswana since the launch of services earlier in the year was something the company would like to see replicated.

“We do obviously see Botswana as a standard in the mix when it comes to first launch,” she said. “Botswana was about four percent (growth) in Quarter 1, 4.5% in Quarter 2 and now 6.5% in Quarter 3. “That just shows how that one contributed to the growth in Africa. “But generally, the growth is consistently across all the African countries.”

Moneyweb, a South African digital publication, also quoted executives as gushing about the success Betway had enjoyed in Botswana since its launch in February.

“It says 95% of its revenues come from 10 countries: South Africa, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Ghana, the US (from which it is exiting), Spain, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. “That Botswana is already on this list is astonishing, given that it only launched in that market in February 2025,” the publication said in an article published on Thursday.

Moneyweb quoted Betway Africa CEO, Laurence Michel, describing Botswana as “the best country launch ever” and saying the company held 95% market share in the country.

Betway’s figures confirm other numbers developed by local authorities showing the explosion in gambling, particularly online sports betting this year. According to the last numbers provided by the Gambling Authority, gamblers in the country reportedly placed bets worth P150 million in March alone this year.

In that month, the country’s betting population was estimated at 550,000, with only 40% or about 220,000 using licensed operators. The trend shows that the majority of gamblers are using illegal and unlicensed betting platforms, putting them further at risk of unmitigated addictions, high risk behaviour and all manner of illicit conduct by the platforms.

Lured by the promise of easy pickings and low entry criteria such as one Pula bets online, growing numbers of punters are spending each waking moment making bets on a variety of sporting events around the world, searching for “the big score”.

While the craze has spread by word of mouth, it has particularly been fuelled by social media, where punters have formed groups and regularly share stories of huge winnings, attracting ever growing numbers of new players.

Figures from companies such as Betway confirm that countries such as Botswana, and Africa in general are the epicentre of the global online sports betting craze.

Betway’s revenues in Africa at $646 million for the first nine months of the year, were up 34% from the same period in 2024 when the group raked in $481 million.

According to Moneyweb, beyond its eight active markets, Betway is eyeing Namibia, Angola, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia.

Locally, the explosion in both legal and illegal betting platforms, as well as rising numbers of gamblers and escalating betting amounts, have raised concern that without restraint, many punters could be on the road to serious gambling addiction.

Concerns have even been raised by commentators that many older gamblers who previously were restricted to physical casinos, are now gambling around the clock and around the week online. Reports are being shared on social media of some elderly people risking their pensions and other savings to gamble recklessly.

Young people, on the other hand, are the fastest rising demographic in the betting wave, again raising concern that addiction guard-rails are not being monitored or enforced.

The Gambling Authority has commissioned a national study on the prevalence of gambling in Botswana with a special focus on problem gambling and the risks associated with online platforms.