GCI Report Reveals Growth in Africa’s Regulated Online Gambling Revenue

A new report from Gaming Compliance International (GCI) indicates that regulated online gambling revenue across Africa increased from $4.4 billion in 2024 to $5.2 billion in 2025. This growth reflects a rising preference among African consumers for licensed, safer online gambling options, according to GCI.

What Happened

Gaming Compliance International (GCI) has released a comprehensive report detailing the online gambling landscape across all 54 African nations. This analysis, based on two years of audience and activity data from 2024 and 2025, represents the first such study of its kind, as reported by PR Newswire UK.

The report specified that revenue for regulated operators within Africa’s online gaming markets rose from $4.4 billion in 2024 to $5.2 billion in 2025. During this period, the regulated sector’s share of the total online African gaming market reportedly increased from 22% to 23%, contributing to commerce, communities, and consumers across the continent, according to the PR Newswire UK release.

Despite this growth, the report highlighted the persistent presence of an unregulated sector. In 2025, unregulated online gambling operators reportedly accumulated $17.8 billion in online gaming GGR, which translated to an estimated $3.55 billion in lost tax revenue for African governments. The number of unregulated operators targeting Africa reportedly grew from 3,644 in 2024 to 4,129 in 2025, as stated in the PR Newswire UK article.

Key Details

• Regulated online gambling revenue in Africa increased from $4.4 billion in 2024 to $5.2 billion in 2025 (PR Newswire UK).
• The regulated sector’s share of the total online African gaming market grew from 22% to 23% between 2024 and 2025 (PR Newswire UK).
• The percentage of Africa’s total population interacting with online gambling increased from 13% (198 million people) in 2024 to 14% (215 million people) in 2025 (PR Newswire UK).
• Unregulated online gambling operators reportedly generated $17.8 billion in online gaming GGR in 2025, leading to an estimated $3.55 billion in lost tax for African governments (PR Newswire UK).
• The number of unregulated operators targeting Africa reportedly increased from 3,644 in 2024 to 4,129 in 2025 (PR Newswire UK).

Why It Matters

The GCI report provides factual insights into the financial dynamics of Africa’s online gambling market, distinguishing between regulated and unregulated sectors. The growth in regulated revenue suggests an ongoing shift in consumer behavior towards licensed platforms, which GCI describes as providing benefits to commerce, communities, and consumers.

The substantial financial losses attributed to unregulated operators, specifically $3.55 billion in potential tax revenue in 2025, highlight the economic impact of the unregulated market. GCI frames these losses as opportunities for marketplace optimization. Ismail Vali, President of GCI, stated that Africa’s online gambling markets should be defined by their opportunity to deliver sustainable local commerce, public revenues, and safer consumer outcomes, rather than solely by their challenges, according to PR Newswire UK.

What’s Next

GCI indicates that regulatory success in Africa relies on four key components: monitoring the entire online gambling marketplace, policing against unlicensed operators, enforcing regulatory integrity, and optimizing the regulated sector to remain attractive and competitive for African consumers. Small, practical improvements in public policies, taxation, payments, product availability, enforcement, and regulatory collaboration are expected to encourage results within Africa, as stated by PR Newswire UK.

The report’s objective is not merely to regulate more, but to optimize better, with success judged by the outcomes of these objectives. The purpose of regulation extends to sensibly regulating the entire online gambling marketplace, aiming to ensure consumers choose and benefit from the regulated sector, according to GCI’s President, Ismail Vali, as sourced from PR Newswire UK.

Originally reported by PR Newswire UK·Published 20 Jul 2026, 23:01