A six-country survey on who bets, what they play, how typically, how they play, and the way a lot they spend throughout Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
95%
Guess on a cellular gadget
67%
Guess primarily on soccer
Betting is without doubt one of the most lively digital shopper classes in sub-Saharan Africa. In June and July 2026, GeoPoll surveyed 2,866 individuals throughout six of the continent’s largest betting markets to measure participation, product selection, frequency, channel, and spend. This report covers the survey questions, with nation comparisons.
The headline is a market the place betting is mainstream, runs overwhelmingly on cellular, and is performed typically. Past these constants, product selection and spending cut up the area into distinct markets. Soccer anchors betting virtually in every single place, however South Africa runs on on line casino video games as a substitute. Kenya leans into quick crash-style video games. Uganda spends essentially the most per thirty days. The takeaway for operators and advertisers is {that a} single continental technique will misinterpret most of those markets.
The findings sit inside a fast-growing trade. Business estimates put Africa’s sports activities betting market at round 3 billion US {dollars} in 2025, with the broader playing sector valued close to 17.6 billion {dollars} and greater than 440 million bettors throughout the continent. Low-cost smartphones, increasing cellular web, and broadly used cellular cash have turned betting right into a mobile-first behavior. This survey continues GeoPoll’s annual monitoring of the class, constructing on our earlier Betting in Africa research.
How many individuals wager
Betting participation is excessive throughout the area. Requested whether or not they had positioned a wager prior to now 12 months, between 54 and 64 p.c of respondents stated sure, led by Kenya at 64 p.c and Ghana at 60 p.c.
Studying the participation numbers. Kenya (64 p.c) and Ghana (60 p.c) present the deepest football-betting bases, adopted by Tanzania (59 p.c), South Africa (58 p.c), Uganda (57 p.c), and Nigeria (54 p.c). Greater than half of adults in every of those markets wager prior to now 12 months, which is a big and mainstream viewers.
The remainder of the findings on this report are based mostly on individuals who have positioned a wager prior to now, so the sections that observe describe the conduct of lively bettors
What individuals wager on
Soccer is the dominant product total, named by 67 p.c of bettors as what they play most frequently. Aviator and different crash-style video games observe at 13 p.c, on line casino video games at 11 p.c, and lotteries at 5 p.c.
The regional common hides the sharpest divide within the examine. Soccer leads in 5 markets, reaching 84 p.c of bettors in Uganda, 81 p.c in Nigeria, and 78 p.c in Tanzania. South Africa is the exception: soccer reaches solely 29 p.c there, whereas on line casino video games lead at 36 p.c and lotteries draw 16 p.c, each far above some other market. Kenya stands out individually for Aviator at 24 p.c, roughly double the next-highest market. This mirrors a wider pattern: sport supplier Spribe reviews Aviator participant numbers in Africa grew about 54 p.c 12 months on 12 months, as light-weight crash video games win share from conventional sports activities betting.
Important variations to notice. South Africa is the one market the place soccer is just not the main product, and its on line casino share (36 p.c) is 5 to seven instances increased than within the football-led markets. Kenya’s Aviator share (24 p.c) is the best within the area and factors to a definite fast-game tradition.
South Africa’s product combine displays the area’s most developed and tightly regulated playing market. The nation’s Nationwide Playing Board reviews that on-line betting now generates about 60 p.c of nationwide playing income, and Statistics South Africa has documented a rising nationwide urge for food for playing and betting. The broader vary of on line casino and lottery merchandise obtainable to South African bettors helps clarify why their preferences look so completely different from these within the football-led markets to the north.
How typically individuals wager
Betting is frequent, and the sample is constant throughout the area. As soon as every week is the only most typical reply. Total, 55 p.c of bettors play at the very least weekly, and 28 p.c play as soon as a day or extra. Nation-level frequency varies solely barely, so that is greatest learn as a regional fixed: it is a high-frequency class, not an occasional one.
The cellular channel is common
There may be virtually no variation by channel. Throughout all markets, 95 p.c of bettors place bets on a cellular gadget, ranging narrowly from 94 p.c in Uganda to 96 p.c in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa. Cell is just not a rising channel right here, it’s successfully the one channel. Cell expertise, information price, and app or internet efficiency are the actual aggressive battleground reasonably than a secondary consideration.
95%of bettors place their bets on a cellular gadget, with lower than a 3 level unfold throughout all six international locations.
How a lot individuals spend
Month-to-month betting spend is modest for many bettors and concentrated on the low finish. Total, 58 p.c spend below 10 US {dollars} a month and one other 24 p.c spend between 10 and 25 {dollars}. Solely about 10 p.c spend 50 {dollars} or extra.
Spend is the place Uganda separates from the remaining. Solely 35 p.c of Ugandan bettors spend below 10 {dollars}, 40 p.c fall within the 10 to 25 greenback band, and 6 p.c report spending above 500 {dollars} a month, the best high-spender share within the area. South Africa additionally skews increased, with 11 p.c spending 50 {dollars} or extra. Tanzania is essentially the most value-conscious market, with 67 p.c below 10 {dollars}.
The place the cash concentrates. Share of bettors spending 50 {dollars} or extra per thirty days: Uganda 17 p.c, South Africa 11 p.c, Ghana 10 p.c, Nigeria and Tanzania 9 p.c, Kenya 7 p.c. Uganda’s increased spend paired with its decrease daily-play charge suggests fewer however bigger stakes.
Who’s betting
The betting viewers skews younger. The 25 to 34 age group is the biggest phase total at 45 p.c, adopted by 18 to 24 at 26 p.c and 35 to 44 at 23 p.c. Older bettors are a small minority.
Age tilts by market are value noting. Uganda is the youngest-concentrated, with 59 p.c of respondents aged 25 to 34. Kenya has the strongest 18 to 24 presence at 36 p.c. South Africa is the oldest, with 38 p.c aged 35 to 44 and 11 p.c aged 45 to 54, the best older share within the examine.
Gender is the sharpest demographic distinction. Total, 69 p.c of respondents are male. Betting audiences are closely male in Ghana (82 p.c), Tanzania (78 p.c), Uganda (76 p.c), and Nigeria (73 p.c), extra balanced in Kenya (61 p.c male), and reversed in South Africa, the place girls make up 54 p.c, the one market the place feminine bettors are the bulk.
What it means for the market
- Deal with every market individually. A single continental technique misreads the area. South Africa’s on line casino and lottery lean, Kenya’s crash-game urge for food, and Uganda’s increased spend every name for distinct product and advertising approaches.
- Soccer is the acquisition anchor, besides in South Africa. In 5 markets, soccer is the entry product and the pure focus for sponsorships and odds-led advertising. In South Africa, on line casino content material and lotteries deserve high billing.
- Compete on cellular expertise. With 95 p.c of bettors on cellular in every single place, load pace, information effectivity, and app reliability are the actual differentiators.
- Plan for top frequency. Weekly and every day play is the norm, so retention, dwell betting, and responsible-play controls matter as a lot as acquisition.
- Phase by worth. Most bettors are low spenders, however Uganda and South Africa carry meaningfully bigger high-spend tails value concentrating on with tailor-made presents.
Methodology and notes. GeoPoll surveyed 2,866 respondents throughout Ghana (547), Kenya (557), Nigeria (526), South Africa (496), Tanzania (428), and Uganda (312) between 24 June and 16 July 2026, utilizing GeoPoll’s cellular survey channels together with SMS, WhatsApp, and the GeoPoll app. Participation figures replicate the share of respondents who reported putting a wager on soccer prior to now 12 months. Product, frequency, channel, and spend figures describe lively bettors. Spend bands had been collected in native currencies and transformed to comparable US greenback ranges. Percentages are rounded to the closest entire quantity and will not sum to precisely 100. Figures describe the survey audiences and will not be adjusted to full nationwide inhabitants estimates. It is a fast dipstick survey following a pure fallout, with out strict quotas. It is a fast dipstick survey following a pure fallout, with out strict quotas. To conduct a scientific examine on playing or different subjects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, please contact GeoPoll.
