A bit more than a year ago, in February 2021, the US business magazine Forbes wrote that Africa represented the continent with the fastest growth. Because: startups earned 450 million $ in 2015 and 2 billion $ in 2019. In this context, the growth within the sports betting industry is primarily due to South Africa. After all: this country accounts for more than 80% of this industry across the continent. Therefore, South Africa aims to have a say in the global sports betting market by 2027. By then, the global market volume is expected to reach $237.2 billion.
The South African market is ahead of the Australian one
In South Africa, the industry focuses in particular on four sports. Unsurprisingly, these include soccer. Then there are rugby and cricket, two other disciplines in which the country is particularly successful, as well as horse racing. Furthermore, the US sports leagues NBA, MLB, NFL, and NHL enjoy a high status. And this despite the fact that the South African sports betting market is particularly strictly regulated. Betway, Hollywoodbets, G-Bets and Sportingbet constitute some of the popular bookies with a licence in South Africa.
All in all, the sports betting industry accounts for more than 50% of the gambling revenue in South Africa. On top of that, we can expect a future growth of 6% per year. A big part of this, as almost everywhere in the world, comes from online betting. And as crazy as it may sound… In Australia, live betting counts as interactive gambling. And the latter, which additionally includes all forms of roulette, blackjack, and digital scratch cards, has been banned since the year 2001. And this ensured that, even if years later, the South African market began to take off from that one.
The betting sites bring precious tax money into the state treasury
In South Africa, in 2004 the National Gambling Act 7 legalized online betting in nine provinces. With this and, for example, the subsequent adaptation in 2008, which permitted live wagering, the government laid a foundation for economic success. Moreover, the fact that about 5% of the population bet on sports, generates particularly significant tax revenues. As a result, it goes without saying that the institutions will continue to provide the best possible support to the industry in its ambitious endeavour.
Alice is half Austrian and half Italian. So, she experienced the 1990 World Cup in Italy at very close quarters. And that sparked her enthusiasm for football. Since she loved to write since childhood, Alice began to engage in journalism while still at school....
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By Alice Kopp
Alice is half Austrian and half Italian. That's why she experienced the 1990 World Cup in Italy at first hand. And that awakened her enthusiasm for football. Since she has loved writing since childhood, Alice began to study journalism while still at school. It was very convenient for her that her class took part in a project of a German daily newspaper. She was also allowed to write for the children's pages of an Austrian daily newspaper and to get a taste of the sports department of the same medium. This is how she received her first press accreditations, which was of course anything but a matter of course for the then 18-year-old.
Although she was partly advised against it, Alice decided to study journalism and communication sciences. After a few years, she decided to use the exams she had taken as an elective. Nevertheless, she applies the knowledge she has acquired in her further professional life. The same applies to her language skills. In addition to her mother tongues German and Italian, Alice is also proficient in English and Spanish. She also understands French and can use this language in research.
During her studies, Alice was involved in an Austrian football club. At the same time, she wrote for a total of three Austrian portals and worked as an Austria correspondent for an Italian-language online medium. This collaboration started during Giovanni Trapattoni's era at Red Bull Salzburg and continued during EURO 2008. This gave her the opportunity to interact with Trapattoni as well as with Italian journalists.
From the following year, Alice initially worked with a Swiss portal before discovering sports betting content for herself. On the one hand, this kept her in sports journalism, and on the other, it broadened her horizons. And that both in the context of the sports betting industry and with other sports as well as countries. In the field of sports journalism, she focused in particular on football from around the world, volleyball and beach volleyball.
In addition, she naturally wrote several guides, bookmaker profiles, bonus articles and other content for betting enthusiasts. She did this for the same company for about ten years, writing articles in German and Italian. She also built the Italian-language website together with the managing director. Meanwhile, Alice started working with another Austrian football club. Furthermore, she joined the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS) in 2016. This gives her the opportunity to watch teams and athletes on the ground relatively often.
Not only sports betting, but also radio
In January 2019, the next step in her professional development followed. For: she started creating premium content on the topic of sports betting. In the process, she finally put out feelers to almost all countries and all continents. And this was not least due to the fact that both German and English-speaking users subscribed to her content. Nevertheless, Alice continued to use her knowledge of Italian, among other things. On the one hand, because she regularly exchanges ideas with Italian colleagues, and on the other, because she works with a web radio station.
The Corona crisis had a strong impact on the sports world and on interest in sports betting, primarily in the early days. Therefore, a fresh start was necessary and, on balance, Alice found the fields of activity that suited her best. She also writes articles for an agency on almost all disciplines as well as on eSports and content for a German online medium.
Alice is half Austrian and half Italian. That's why she experienced the 1990 World Cup in Italy at first hand. And that awakened her enthusiasm for football.
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