iGaming Daily

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Over the last few years, Africa has been viewed as one of global iGaming's next big opportunities, but many operators are struggling to adjust to the new regulatory era. With increased mobile and internet accessibility across the continent, how can operators switch from a primarily retail-driven operation to a modern online-based business with the powerful technology to back it up? Welcome back to iGaming Daily, supported by Optimove, the creator of positionless marketing. and the number one player engagement solution for sports betting and iGaming operators. I'm Charlie Horner and today I'm joined by Every Matrix's Managing Director for Africa, Mark Schmidt. Mark, thanks for joining us. How are you doing? Hey, Charlie. Thanks for having me again. All good here. Thank you very much. Very good. yeah, we'll remind listeners that you joined us on the show last year. And when we did talk, again, we were talking about Africa and you mentioned that there was a lot of sort of legacy tech issues that operators were facing across various different African markets. um Maybe we could just start by outlining those issues again for our listeners. Has anything changed in that aspect? I've been very vocal from the start about the poor job that turnkey providers have done in Africa in the past. um It doesn't take much digging to speak to operators out there that have been around for the last five, 10 years to find out and hear the stories of how they've been let down by, especially by European turnkey providers that have tried to enter into Africa with a host of promises and have ultimately failed to deliver on the majority of the promises that they've made. So as a result of that, what you've seen is that These operators that have shown steady growth over time, have been left in no position but to go in-house and develop their own technology and their own platforms. Obviously that comes with a lot more kind of control and direction that you want to take the business in, but comes with huge overheads and also kind of limits your ability to expand at the rate that African operators are needed to expand at the moment to keep competitive. And it's an incredibly competitive market. you know, in a... Very lucky scenario, I suppose. Every matrix has found ourselves in a great position and that a lot of our competitors have effectively dug their own grave in one way or the other, but, know, kind of really blacklisting their name across the market. And this is just not unique to one country or two countries. It's across the board really. Now our approach has been very simple from the beginning. We know that we have the technology, the product. and other expertise on the backs back of our acquisition of FSB that's been very highly publicized and be very successful for the every matrix group. And what we manage managed to do is to offer a solution that at the core is is a very good fit for the majority of every African market that we are trying to target. Now we are not going after every single country in Africa. It's just not feasible to really dig deep and to offer a product that we are proud of and we can stand behind. So we've been very selective in terms of the countries that we're targeting and the partners that we are also taking on. Now the feedback from the market has been incredibly positive, way better than we had ever imagined. There's been a bit of news recently about our manufacturer's license in South Africa, which was a huge process for us to undergo. But on the back of that, there's also three tier one operators within Africa that have signed up with every matrix. And these are operators that have been around for 10 plus years each, you know, that are real tier one operators. And from just looking at the tech suite that we have, the various products that are on offer, the expertise from account management, commercial payments that we offer, we are in a perfect position now to really kind of kick. kick on with these operators and really develop solid partnerships going forward. And the points that I made early on about, you know, really being very selective in who we work with, you know, it's just a case of us delivering on what we are promising to do, you know, so we can't, if you have 50 clients in Africa, there's no way that you can serve as all 50 clients exactly the same. It's just not feasible. And that's reality. So we are rather, you know, making very selective selections in terms of who we want to work with. We've had to turn away certain clients that just don't really fit in with what we want. But at the same time, it's also backing up what I've been saying from day one is that we really have to deliver on the promises that we are making to these operators, which has been met really well. you know, the operators in Africa really know what they're doing. And these are guys that have bought their businesses with effectively one hand behind their back from a get-go. They've got, you know, millions of players as a database. pushing out, know, bespoke and promotions, bonuses, all done by their team manually. And now with the big push going online in terms of all the revenue that they're seeing with Casino, a company like Every Matrix is perfect, is a perfect choice for them to really kind of kick on and to be, you know, a global challenger in many senses, which is, my aim for a lot of them and I can see it happening in the next five, six years. Yeah, it's certainly been a very busy 12 month period for Every Matrix in Africa and ever since we spoke last year Mark, it seems like there's been lots of developments on that front. You mentioned that you've been very selective with not just the operators that you work with, but the markets that you work in. Perhaps you could give us a little bit of an overview or a bit of insight into what that decision making process looks like and why you have to sort of turn down so many operators who might want to work with you who might not be the right fit. So look, we're very fortunate to be in the position where we can turn down clients. when I put together my initial plans, I assumed that for the first year or so, we would have to kind of take on a few clients to kind of get our name out there. Luckily, that hasn't been the case. But, you know, and what we've had to do to try and, you know, effectively retrofit our oh product into the African market is to listen to the operators and exactly what they want. And to kind of sit down, 95 % of my communication goes through WhatsApp with all the African operators that we are targeting. So one of the biggest challenges that operators have faced from day one is to have a front end that's completely customizable, light, fast, et cetera. Now with that, there was news that was out a few months ago that every matrix acquired Goma Gaming. that sits within the EveryMatrix group now. Front-end specialists, really, really sharp, knows the African market well, and is able to offer the African operator exactly what they want. Now, whether that's in West Africa, East Africa, or South Africa, the differentiates and the nuances in each country are very, very unique. Outside of that too is that we've also internally, our existing EveryMatrix front-end team I've also redone our front end completely. And again, it's that the focus is purely on being fast, lightweight, customizable, and being able to change. And if you look at a front end from the frame speaking areas within Africa compared to South Africa, the front ends are completely different. know, the position of the bed slip is sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right, how the bed slip is displayed, whether there are promotions on the homepage, et cetera. These are all things that we've taken in from you know, from, from the operators and listening to them. The one part that we've been incredibly lucky on, and it's almost accelerated our growth and more than we could have expected is that these tailwind partners that we have managed to sign up and our guys that have, you know, they've got operational teams and managing directors that have been with an African market for the last 20, 25 years. So they've been there, done that. They have, they have all the understanding of exactly what's, what's needed to be done. And those tweets, the products have come from our clients. And so we have, you know, a really good foundation to work off. But the really good news outside of that is that it can be tweaked to fit in terms of, you know, what the operators really want. Another part of that, that's been really beneficial for operators that they'll see once they launch is the change in terms of the products that we are offering. So there's also, again, there's been a marketing push around our bonus guardian product, which is, is a you've just effectively in terms of bonus abuse, which is a worldwide problem. Now in Africa, bonuses are king. And I see a lot of operators out there that are offering bonuses that effectively slit their own throats in a way where the bonuses just make no financial sense whatsoever. And the bonus is being offered just because they need to have a different bonus. Now from every matrix perspective, our bonus tools are probably one of the leaders within the industry. Operators can offer any kind of bonus that they really wish to. The maths is all set up in the back end and it's completely customizable and they can push them out whenever they want. Now, it was the bonus guardian that detects in real time all the kind bonus abuse that could be happening with the various tools that we have in place. And it removes that human elements where bonuses before had to be manually checked and they're prone to error, obviously time consuming. And when a player gets a bonus, he wants a bonus straight away. And the operator also wants it. that player to get that bonus straight away so they can play it up. you know, these are all things that we've put in place. And then the big one really for us is our engage suite. Now that's an all-in-one kind of gamification. So it encompasses bonuses, loyalty, jackbites, gamification, all within one shop. And for me, that's really the crown jewels that we have as every matrix, not just globally, but from an African perspective, where operators have had to kind of, you know, pick from, you know, one part and then really focus on that and then leave the, you know, maybe gamification aside and loyalty, et cetera, aside. It all kind of brings it all together and really, really pushes that, that player demographic from 18 to 25 years that are focused on, you know, online casino playing slots, et cetera. That's really the gamification side of things. They can really maximize that new player that's coming in to make it an environment that is more entertainment instead of just gambling, which is. absolutely weird with the industry shifting to now. Will no. A really strong overview of some of the solutions that you have in Africa. But I think something that we should probably hit on before we go to a break is just acknowledge that there's plenty of localization that needs to happen and understand in the market before you actually enter it. And with that said, think payments is a huge part of this. how do operators balance the need to offer mobile payments or payments via mobile money with some of the compliance demands in some of these evolving regulatory frameworks in Africa. Payments is absolutely one of the cornerstones of any successful business. Now, if it can take a player 30 seconds to get a deposit in, it should take the same amount of time, if not less, to get his money out. There shouldn't be the case where they are waiting two, three days to get paid. And if you look at the kind of the gold standard in terms of mobile money and payments in Africa, it is in East Africa and Kenya and how well it's done. Now the mobile money integration from one country to the next is completely different. And with every matrix, our payments division, which is called Money Matrix, I there's 120 odd employees from every matrix that are just in Money Matrix. So it shows you how important that part of, we recognize how important that part of the business is for us. to ensure it's done properly. you know, it's not just the integration that's done properly. It's also the compliance side of things to ensure that it is, you know, we fully are compliant from local regulations and the regulations in, you know, Zambia will be different to those in Cameroon or Congo and South Africa, et cetera, and what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable. So to work hand in hand with the operators, something that we do from the get-go, the scoping is done incredibly in depth. And we lean on the operator a lot to, you know, to kind of give us the guidance in terms of what they want. But it's also, it's what's, you know, going on to your first question around, you know, this like historical technical debt that operators have faced in the past is that what we've seen in the past is that an integration is done for mobile money payment gateway, whatever it may be. And it's done in the way that the European provider thinks it should be done. and it does not make sense in the local market. that whole payment process and the steps that the player takes through, that comes from the operator. We have our inputs in terms of what we think can work, but from compliance to the integration to ensuring that the operator has every available payments option to them is something that has to be done. And again, it's just basics that aren't really followed. for us, it's a non-negotiable to ensure that it's done properly. Brilliant. Well, Mark, we'll take a quick breather and we'll come back and we'll talk a little bit more about the localization aspects of it and dive into some specific markets as well. John is after the break. Welcome back to iGaming Daily. I'm joined by Every Matrix's Managing Director for Africa, Mark Schmidt. Mark, one thing that I noticed when we talk about Africa as an industry is that some often have the misconception that Africa is just one big homogeneous market. Obviously that's not the case. It's 54 individual markets with varying levels of regulation, legalization, et cetera. I was wondering if you could just outline some of the biggest differences that you see in some markets that every matrix works in and maybe talk a little bit about the perception of homogeneity that there sometimes is and talk about why that's a bit of an issue. I think the biggest misconception that is really kind of still Prevalence in Africa is that football is still king in terms of, know, and in sports book that shifts has happened years ago where casino now is the backbone of, of Guinea operator. Sports book still makes up a very important parts of the offering, you know, but the shift in terms of more of the focus going on to casino is happening, you know, almost day by day. So from, from that sense, like how we've tried to adapt to it is that. Sure, we have the biggest casino aggregator out there in the world. There's no doubt about that. So we can offer our operators every single casino game that they want. But it's also bringing in the local studios. So these are studios that are based in Africa that understand the local player. They're designing mini games where there's localized slang. There's references to local hip hop artists or whoever it may be, local actresses or actors, et cetera. that's really unique to that country. Now we realize that the success of those games are not going to be continent wide, absolutely, but for specific countries, it's an absolute key kind of acquisition tool for some of these operators to have. And that's something that our Casino Engine and our Slot Matrix team have done exceptionally well to kind of recognize and bring on board. If you look at the differences between East Africa and Southern Africa, you know, Casinos doing exceptionally well in both markets, but in South Africa, have the popularity about the sports. know, football still does really well, but horse racing in South Africa is also a must have for, you know, for top 10 operators in South Africa. And a lot of the operators in South Africa are using through their platform, the horse racing that they are offering is set up for the UK market and it's not using the local terminology that is applicable to the South African market. That's another part where I've been very lucky to, you know, part of the sales in South Africa and Africa is that our odds matrix team that handles the bus racing product understands that. And everything that we have set up for South Africa is geared towards the South African market. There's also the need for operators that still want to be omni-channel, and retail is still a very big part of how that omni-channel solution is offered. The bricks and mortar shops are still there. However, the agent system has become a key component of the retail offering now. So the way that that retails that agent system is offered and the requirements that the devices that the agents use out on the streets are completely different from one part of Africa to the next. There's certain parts in uplying areas where internet connection is not very strong. We have to adapt to that. Again, we're very much client led in terms of what we want, of what they want and what we can offer. This whole thing of terms of Africa is one big country. It's just, if anyone thinks like that, it's, know, they've got zero chance of being successful here. And, and again, it's also part of recognizing is that this is, and goes on to what I was saying earlier on about being very targeted in the countries that we're approaching is that we know that we cannot service every single country within Africa. It's, it's impossible based on the nuances. So it's a really kind of hone in and focus on certain countries. where we know we can grow our partners, we know that we can be there for a long time. It's not going to be a hit and run exercise that we've seen in the past. And really makes sense to come to knuckle down because no matter who you are in the world from a tech point of view, tech resource is limited and how you allocate that tech resource is very important. And likely for me, you know, from the executive team that we have, the local teams that we have and everyone around the world is there's a common kind of golden thread that understands all of that. And we make it very clear. again, it's also part and parcel in terms of why we've had to turn away certain clients that we just feel that we don't fit in terms of what we want to do, or that we feel that what we have doesn't really suit their market at that stage. So these are all things to take in consideration and oh again, part and parcel of operating in Africa. certainly. You talked a lot. there about South Africa specifically. I think that's an important market, not just because I believe you're based in South Africa, Mark, but I think it's been an interesting market to watch over the last 12 months or so as that's become more prominent and regulation has come to the fore. I'd love to get your insights into just how that market has developed over the last 12 to 18 months. Has there been anything that's particularly stood out to you in the way that that market's developed or maybe surprised you a little bit in terms of how it's changed or how operators are reacting, how consumers are reacting. What are your observations about South Africa? Yeah, it's getting more more difficult for the operators that sit in the tier two, tier three space to be competitive. It comes down from the marketing spend they have and also the technology that they're running off. So from our side, It's quite clear. So the market is controlled by two operators in Bedway and Hollywood Bents. know, it's at a minimum 85 % of the market is controlled by those two. What we've gone after are the operators that are sitting, you know, third, fourth and fifth in the market that have done exceptionally well. They have teams that know their market backwards. They understand the player dynamics. They know what needs to be done to be kept competitive. And we've gone in and, and showing them exactly what we have to kind of really try and make up a bit of that market share that they, that they're losing out on. The, the, the market just continues to be dominated and by, by those two operators is still a lot that can be picked up. Um, but until, you know, we can really launch our first clients in South Africa that sits in that, you know, three, four, five level. And that has been signed with us and make the kit has been signed already. And once that launch happens, then we can really see some of that market share being, you know, being chewed into, is, which is our end goal, but it's very much, um, much of the same as from this time last year to now. Um, but I think what we will see in the, in the, you know, in the future, we'll see a lot of companies having to kind of come together and to pull resources to, stay competitive because the two big boys are just getting bigger at this stage. Yeah, certainly a market to watch and one that will develop, um, in an interesting way, let's say over the next 12 to 18 months and beyond. Obviously, earlier this month it was revealed that Every Matrix has got a license in South Africa. Those new client launches are imminent. I imagine that's an exciting thing to be able to announce ahead of Sigma Africa, which is at the beginning of March. What can our listeners expect to see from Every Matrix at Sigma Africa? What the topics that you think are going to dominate the conversations there and oh just any parting thoughts for what people can expect really, Mark? So we will be exhibiting at Sigma Africa. It's a key event for us this year. We've got a team, I think, of six or seven people coming down. It's not the biggest show worldwide, but it's a show full of quality. And off the back of Sigma last year, we actually managed to sign a huge deal in South Africa. that came from that show. So it's very important for us to be there. I think one of the key parts of us is, or points for us to be there is to discuss the Engage Suite that I mentioned earlier on, just purely based on the absolute push that we've seen with Casino for the last few years and how important that gamification and royalty aspect to any successful operator is. There's also members from our Game Matrix, our platform team, that will be there to go through You know how modular the whole system is, all the kind of reporting requirements that they need now, especially with the push towards safer gambling and how we are the industry leaders from a safer and responsible gambling point of view. And then what I mentioned about the bonus guardian product product that we have in place. because, know, bonus abuse is a huge issue in South Africa, especially on a lot of the guys are operating even with their own proprietary tech that they might have or turnkey or whatever it may be. A lot of these processes are still manual and time, it just takes an absolute huge amount of time to get anything done. And the bonus abuse is rife across the industry. So I'll be there. The rest of the team in Africa will be there. And then we've got quite a few international people coming up too. And it'll be good to come up, not just showcase our turnkey platform, but also other products that we have in place too, in terms of our slot magics, exclusive games and anything else that. basically any successful operator wants to see. Fantastic. Well, Mark, thanks very much. It's been great to chat about Africa and some of the developments that not only EverMatrix has on the continent, but just in some of those markets specifically. So thanks for your expertise and insights. And thank you to our audience for tuning into today's episode of iGaming Daily and come back tomorrow to keep up to date with all the latest global gambling news.