SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
In January, Soft2Bet announced its debut in Africa, as it unveiled a multi-year turnkey agreement with Channels Media Group, one of Nigeria’s largest media organisations. The deal sees the launch of Waddibet.com/ng which will compete in the Nigerian online casino and sports betting market.
Combining Soft2Bet’s turnkey Player Account Management (PAM) solution and Motivational Engineering Gamification Application (MEGA) tool alongside the Channels Media Group brand recognition and established audience in Nigeria, the two parties anticipate making a splash in the market and establishing a long-term successful joint venture.
Speaking with SBC News to discuss its debut in Africa, Soft2Bet Chief Business Development Officer Martin Collins outlines that the combination creates a ‘compelling’ option for Nigerian players and proposes that the JV could be the “Sky Bet of Nigeria”.
Collins explains: “There are other people that are already established there, but combined with the media power of Channels and our product that drives market leading conversions and massive opportunities to drive engagement and loyalty, we really have a compelling business case here and something that we’re really looking forward to growing.”
Under the deal’s provisions, Soft2Bet will utilise MEGA to drive engagement among players and ensure that they come to the platform and feel compelled to remain via a market leading personalised experience.
Collins tells SBC that it is a demonstrably proven success tool; among European markets, MEGA has increased the average time on site/app from 15 minutes to an hour, an increase of 400%.
However, Soft2Bet is aware of the nuances of the Nigerian market and the differences between its newest jurisdiction and other places where it has already been established. Despite being Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria’s GDP per capita remains low compared to Europe.
Collins argues this means that volumes must be high to ensure the Waddibet.com/ng venture is a successful one.
“Volume is key, and maintaining that volume is essential. We genuinely believe that MEGA and mechanics like Bonus Crab, for example, which is a grab machine where the customer can actually use the machine online and grab prizes, whether it’s free bets, free accumulators or free spins, give us a massive opportunity.
“With our innovation and the size of the market and our ability to engage with the customers, we genuinely see this as a massive opportunity, despite the supposed challenges that exist.”
‘Gaming is falling behind with engagement tools’
Gamification is increasingly vital in an industry focused on player retention. Seen as a game changing way of keeping players on site, gamification tools are seen on increasingly more platforms.
Yet, Collins asserts his belief that the gaming industry is lagging behind other industries in terms of the adoption of these tools. In a mobile-first world, gaming is competing with Netflix, e-commerce, and mobile games for screen time, and, on the whole, Collins argues that those other industries are winning in the battle for screentime.
“The gaming industry is very much behind the curve on this. What we are doing is we’re building gamified experiences utilising these mechanics that the customer is already used to on other apps that they use every day, in order to increase the screen time of their experience within the actual gambling app itself.”
When asked to elaborate, Collins attributes gaming’s lag behind other industries to sportsbooks and casinos failing to update their UI/UX for ‘around 15-20 years.
“Yes, there are little nuances that have changed, for sure,” he adds, “but ultimately, your casino lobby and your sports betting platform and the way it’s presented is exactly the same.
“I don’t know if it’s fear or that everybody expects to have the same experience, but I can’t talk for other people about why that’s the case. What I can say is that we have gone in another direction. We’re genuinely creating something that is unique within our industry, and we’re seeing the benefit of it.”
Creating the ‘retention loop’ in Africa
That something unique that Collins refers to is Soft2Bet’s MEGA solution. He admits that it is nothing new and that others got to gamification tools first but points out that Soft2Bet’s engine is far more effective than others on the market, citing its 400% increase in engagement.
He actually refers to Candy Crush as one inspiration for MEGA’s mechanics, noting that it uses a similar tool in which players must wait a certain amount of time before they can play again when they lose their lives. He says that tools such as these are driving engagement and loyalty.
Soft2Bet and Collins refer to the gamification process as a retention loop. Players play casino games then are placed into the gamified experience with virtual currency. They can earn rewards for the casino, which they then return to. The process continues in a loop, hence the name.
But bringing this tool, as well as its PAM, to Nigeria comes with certain nuances and adaptations that must be considered.
“If you look at mobile penetration in Nigeria, it’s grown drastically over the last two-to-three years since COVID. It’s probably the fastest-growing mobile penetration in the world in terms of a market. Consequently, the customer’s expectations are very different from those of a traditional sports betting player in the UK.
“The ability to adjust the front-end based on customer interaction is crucial. If they’re experiencing bugs, if they’re experiencing issues with bandwidth, which can be an issue within Africa as well. If you take a step outside the major cities within Nigeria, and the bandwidth of availability goes down, you’ve got to be able to offer a light product.
“There’s over 200 million people in Nigeria, so therefore you’re gonna have several cohorts that are very different from one another and what they’re expecting from their experience on a site might be different from one another. You’ve got to use the data to your advantage and deliver a truly personalised experience.”
‘The Sky Bet of Nigeria’
As aforementioned, Collins and Soft2Bet aim to create “the Sky Bet of Nigeria” through their partnership with Channels Media Group. But while Sky Bet is the poster child for the successful convergence of media and sports betting, plenty of other examples of ventures haven’t been as fruitful.
So when quizzed by SBC about how to ensure the Waddibet.com/ng venture falls into the former category, Collins asserted that Soft2Bet and Channels Media Group have a strong collaborative relationship in which they leverage each other’s strengths.
“First things first, Sky Bet took a long time to be successful. If you speak to Richard Flint, he will say it would always take that amount of time, but it took a little bit of time for Sky Bet to really resonate.
“But you need to understand what the media partner can bring to the table and what they’re good at. If you’re a platform provider and you’re only bringing the platform, I would say that there are probably some things missing in terms of services. So the media partner might be amazing when it comes to putting their brand on TV, but do they understand how that affects PPC? Do they understand SEO? The answer is probably not.
“We’re in a unique position again, via our B2C ventures, to be able to offer these services to the customer and ensure, at least in the short-to-medium term, that they get a positive trajectory from the beginning.”
Ultimately, Soft2Bet enters the Nigerian market with confidence and big ambitions. Collins outlines the firm’s ambitions to attain a 5% market share within the first 18-36 months as a foundation and then aim upward from there.
As the first strategic pillar of entry into Africa, Nigeria is the starting point of the firm’s ambitions on the continent, which includes Kenya and Ghana. For now, the focus remains on securing 5% of the Nigerian gaming market while ensuring smooth entries into key regions like New Jersey and Greece.
Collins concludes: “If an opportunity presents itself, we’ll look at it for sure. We always do. But we need to be successful in these areas.”
