Exclusive – Driving Growth and Innovation: A Vision for Africa’s Gaming Industry

In a conversation with iGaming AFRIKA Magazine, Zeena Rossouw, Senior Vice President of Africa at BMM Testlabs, shares her vision for the burgeoning gaming industry across the continent. With extensive experience in the gaming sector and a passionate commitment to integrity and innovation, Zeena discusses her role in advancing regulatory compliance, promoting responsible gaming, and fostering diversity within the industry. As the landscape of gaming in Africa continues to evolve, Zeena highlights the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, emphasising the importance of strong partnerships, cutting-edge technology, and inclusive growth to ensure a sustainable and thriving future for gaming across Africa.

IGA: Congratulations on your recent promotion last year to Senior Vice President, Africa at BMM Testlabs! Could you share with us your vision for the gaming industry in Africa and how you plan to contribute to its growth and development in your new role?

Zeena: Thank you, it’s an honour to work with an outstanding local team and global BMM leaders Martin Storm, Chief Executive Officer; Kirk White, President of Land-Based Gaming; and Marzia Turrini, President of Digital Gaming President of Digital, Security, and Inspections Together, we are focused on advancing our business in Africa. My vision for the African gaming industry is to see it continue to grow and become even stronger. The industry is enjoying such a remarkable surge and becoming so vibrant and robust. 

We’re focused on helping Africa’s regulators, operators, and suppliers meet the demands of that growth through world-class testing, certification, inspections, and consultation services. For the new and emerging markets of Nigeria, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, and Ghana, we’re here to help and provide guidance as they solidify their regulatory frameworks and launch or expand their gaming programs, both online and land-based.

IGA: With decades of experience in the gaming industry, from being a casino count and admin clerk to Senior Vice President, what inspired you to pursue a career in this field, and how has your journey evolved over the years, leading to your current position at BMM Testlabs?

Zeena Rossouw: I grew up in a small town called Margate on the Kwazulu South Coast and I finished high school in 1989. After that, I went to study law. As I was doing that, my parents, especially my dad, encouraged me to get a job while I was studying. I applied at Wild Coast Sun Casino, and it was meant to be a part-time job. While I was there, I saw that there were so many different departments within the casino and that you could make an entire career in the gaming industry. So, the industry just grew on me, and I didn’t finish my legal degree, but I have been in compliance, management, and training my whole career. 

IGA: As the Senior Vice President of Africa and a woman, what are some of the key challenges and opportunities you foresee for the gaming sector in Africa, particularly in terms of regulatory compliance, technological advancements, and market expansion?

Zeena Rossouw: COVID was probably the biggest challenge for me, being the leader of the South African Business and responsible for the employees’ and clients’ needs. I’m like the ‘mother hen’ of BMM’s Africa office, and the thought of losing any team members through furlough or reduction was just unacceptable to me. Because of the tremendous support of our global leadership, we were able to keep all our staff working while many gaming employees elsewhere were furloughed or laid off. And during the COVID slowdown, we found other things to do and were able to work on operational efficiencies, staff training, and planning for enhanced market and client support.

IGA: You recently highlighted the importance of integrity and honesty as well as responsible gambling, especially among employees at the BiG Africa Summit. How does BMM Testlabs support this stance, and how do you ensure it is something that your employees follow as well?

Zeena Rossouw: Honesty and integrity are all I have as Zeena; that is my brand. Within BMM Testlabs, since we test for so many clients, many of whom are competitors, we must have integrity, independence, and impartiality. BMM is accredited with the South African Accreditation Body (SANAS), and they come in and audit us on our ISO/IEC17025 and ISO/IEC 17020 accreditation annually.  

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It is very important that we remain independent and impartial in our work with regulators, suppliers, and operators and that we are driven by evidence. Our company mission is to strengthen the gambling industry to protect all who gamble.  Integrity is one of the most fundamental ways that we protect the gambling industry, and it is the primary role of an independent test lab is integrity.

Regarding responsible gaming, BMM Testlabs’ sister company, RG24seven Virtual Training, provides free Responsible Gaming training to gaming employees worldwide. I encourage regulators, manufacturers, and operators to take advantage of this compliance-grade curriculum that teaches learners the signs and symptoms, how to address problem gambling in the workplace, details on setting limits, self-exclusion programs, cultural considerations, who it can affect, and where to get help.

IGA: How do you manage internal company politics? Ensuring that the disputes among your employees do not interfere with their well-being and performance at work.

Zeena Rossouw: That is a good question, and I think it is an issue in many companies. I won’t deny that we have politics, but it is such a non-issue as conflict is good because it shows that people still care enough about their jobs to disagree! 

Here in South Africa, we have a very diverse and multicultural mixed generation of people and it’s not always easy to keep such a diverse team happy, but I believe that we have found the perfect balance. 

We have regular staff meetings and social functions every second month or whenever the business demands allow us to, and it’s good for staff morale. Our South African team loves to line dance, which is great fun and full of laughs.  

IGA: BMM Testlabs is recognised for its expertise in testing and certification services for gaming products. Could you tell us more about the company’s approach to ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and fostering the need to push your clients to maintain products that do not endanger the players while promoting responsible gaming standards in the gaming market?  <<This is MISSING in Designed copy

Zeena Rossouw: We have a committee for technical standards within South Africa, called EDCOM, which is the Gaming Technical Standards Editorial Committee. I have served on that committee for about 15 years. We review and/or rewrite the technical standards to make sure they are as up to date as possible.

The challenge we have is that once we’ve made the changes or updates, they must go through public participation and approval from the government, which slows things down a lot and often puts us behind innovation. However, the foundation we have for this committee is excellent as we have a representative from each of the nine provincial regulators, the National Gambling Board, the South African Bureau of Standards, operators, manufacturers, and test labs. It’s a pity we are not able to get together more often or move changes quicker for the benefit of the industry.  

What we do in the interim to keep up with innovation at the BMM is, we can take all the existing technical standards and requirements and as well as expertise from our BMM Global team and formulate a test plan for that product. So, if something new is coming into the country and it is brand new, we create a test plan and then we can consult with regulators and whoever else wants to be involved to discuss specific regulations and requirements.  This is then added to the test plan, and we go ahead with testing.

We work very closely with regulators, including other African gaming boards like Uganda, where they have sent us a draft of their requirements, and we review the proposed regulations from a technical perspective and give them input.

The advice I can give to regulators is to lean on BMM for professional technical advice as they are drafting, refining, or putting new regulations in place or if they need help streamlining operations. We are here to help, and we have supported a number of gaming boards over the years. 

IGA: What would you say is the importance of testing especially for the operators who are yet to start implementing testing tools or those who have not yet explored working with testing labs like BMM Testlabs?

Zeena Rossouw: Many operators may not be used to working as closely with their independent test lab because they might be operating in countries that have not required the same level of testing and certification. So, when they come to South Africa, they see it as a hindrance to their business.       I don’t think they realise how much support our team can provide. We can advise on best practices and help preempt any issues that could arise. It’s a good thing to do as a business owner in the gambling industry and a requirement in most jurisdictions globally; to make sure your product is tested and compliant.

IGA: You’ve been actively involved in promoting diversity and inclusion within the gaming industry, as evidenced by your participation in initiatives like Women in Gaming. How do you believe diversity contributes to the success and sustainability of the gaming sector, and what steps can companies take to create more inclusive environments?

Zeena Rossouw: I believe if you bring a whole lot of people who are similar around a boardroom table, you will get advice that is all similar. I like to be surrounded by all shapes, sizes, cultures, colours, genders, and generations. 

When it comes to age, at times, people don’t take young people seriously. That was my biggest challenge when I first started. I was 21, 23, and no one would listen to anything I had to say because I was still young — but you never know, maybe I had a good idea. So, I think it’s very important for every company to have diversity because you get different views, and you ultimately build a stronger brand.

IGA: What would you say is the importance of brands giving opportunities to those who are not within the industry? Most people assume that this is gaming, and they are required to have gaming experience to join the industry. How do you approach this as a company?

Zeena Rossouw: In 2015, I started a learnership program at the company where I worked, and I’m proud to say that the program continues still today. They invite young people to join straight out of university, and when they are close to getting their degree, they bring them on a year’s learnership, and this feeds the industry with new talent.

In my previous job, we sent learners to casinos to learn about the industry. That learnership is something I want to do at BMM Testlabs as well and we are currently recruiting. We advertise on LinkedIn, and we also go to the universities and put up notices.

I find the industry is now feeding from the test labs because many industry people are not technical. In fact, they’re at regulatory agencies, which just shows the confidence the industry has in BMM!

IGA: What is the importance of mentorship and sponsorship to identify talent and promote women within the industry?

Zeena Rossouw: If I think back to many years ago and compare it with now, I can see a major change. There are so many more women in gaming leadership positions. At BMM, for example, 40 percent of our senior executive team is women globally. In Africa, 60 percent of our staff are women. Even in traditionally male-dominated technical roles, we’re attracting more women. For example, we recently hired five testers, three of whom are women. I’m very passionate about keeping a good balance of women and men and I believe that it’s what makes a business successful and well-balanced.

IGA: What would be your closing remarks?

Zeena Rossouw: I am very proud of how far the industry has come and myself personally. I have spent my career in gaming, and it’s my life. This is a wonderful industry that allows you to travel, meet new people, and learn.

I think our industry can also do more on responsible gaming, job creation, and learnership sides.          I would also like to see all our regulators work even more collaboratively, finding common ground and keeping their regulations up to date with technology. It would make life easier for the manufacturers and suppliers when it comes to meeting the requirements of each jurisdiction. It costs money to develop products, and when suppliers must meet so many different regulatory requirements for each jurisdiction, product development and innovation can become quite expensive. Let’s work together as an industry to continue to advance innovation and promote growth, and most of all, protect all who gamble through an overriding focus on responsibility and integrity.