Exclusive: Honoré Gaming’s Tangi Daniel on the Potential for Side Bets in Africa
Could side-bet jackpots give African sportsbooks another way to compete beyond odds? Tangi Daniel, Head of Casino at Honoré Gaming, believes there is room to do more, provided operators get the product and pricing right for each market. In this exclusive interview with iGaming AFRIKA, he draws on 15 years in the industry to discuss what has held adoption back and how lessons from casinos could translate to sports betting.
Please tell us more about yourself, your current role at Honoré Gaming and the key experiences that have shaped your approach to casino leadership.
I’m Tangi, Head of Casino at Honoré Gaming. I’ve worked in iGaming for 15 years, mainly in emerging markets. My role involves overseeing casino operations, from content selection and supplier partnerships to commercial performance, working closely with our team and the operators across the Honoré Gaming network.
Working with operators across different African markets has shaped my approach. You quickly learn that what works in one country will not necessarily work in another. Successful casino leadership means combining a clear commercial strategy with an understanding of local players, listening to our partners and helping the team turn those insights into practical improvements.
From your perspective, how significant is the untapped opportunity for side bets in African sports betting, and where do you see the strongest commercial potential?
I believe the opportunity is significant. In many of the African markets we work in, “bet small, win big” is central to the way players approach betting. The popularity of lottery products also suggests an audience for that proposition. Optional jackpots can bring an additional chance of a major prize alongside a player’s usual sports bet.
For operators, the strongest potential is differentiation. Competing on better odds alone can put pressure on margins. A well-designed side-bet jackpot gives players another reason to choose a bookmaker, adding excitement without changing the odds of their original bet. The contribution must be adapted to the local market, with clear rules and prizes that players find appealing.
What would you say explains the limited presence of side bets across African sportsbooks? And to what extent does this reflect player preferences, operator strategy, or limitations within the technology supporting the industry?
I wouldn’t interpret limited availability as a lack of player interest. From my perspective, it has more to do with access to suitable technology and products, and how easily operators can integrate them.
But making the feature available is only one part of the job. Player understanding and trust are essential. The proposition needs to be immediately clear: what the player pays, how the jackpot works and what they can win.
With this model, the player chooses to make an additional contribution for a separate chance to win a jackpot. Their original betslip and its odds remain unchanged. That distinction needs to be clear from the start, with the extra cost visible and participation optional.
From your experience, what makes a side bet resonate with casino players, and how could sportsbooks bring that same appeal to their offering?
Jackpots have long been part of both land-based and online casino gaming, so the concept is already familiar to players. With an optional side-bet jackpot, players make a separate contribution rather than having jackpot funding built into the game’s mathematics. They can choose whether to participate and, across eligible games, enjoy the jackpot without being tied to one particular title.
Sportsbooks can bring that same appeal through simple rules, visible pricing and an optional feature that fits naturally into the betting interface. Players should understand the extra cost and the chance to win when placing their original bet, without having to navigate to a separate page.
Within casino games themselves, where do you see the most promising opportunities to introduce or develop side bets for African audiences?
The biggest opportunity is to bring optional jackpots to the games players already enjoy, whether it’s slots, live casino or crash games. I see potential in combining smaller, more frequent prizes with a larger headline jackpot, while adapting contribution levels to each market. Community payouts are also an interesting direction: sharing part of a jackpot among several participating players, alongside the main winner, creates a different experience from the traditional single-winner format.
How do you see technology shaping the next generation of sports betting in Africa, and which developments could make the biggest difference to what operators can offer?
For me, flexibility and localisation are key. Operators need technology that lets them adapt their offering to each market, from payments to content while keeping the experience fast and accessible in low-data environments.
African gaming has evolved quickly in recent years. I expect many markets to follow some of the trends seen in more mature markets, but at their own pace and in their own way. Players increasingly want more choice beyond the traditional betting experience.
Multiplayer and community features are particularly interesting. Prediction markets are another development to watch, depending on local regulation. The opportunity is to support new formats while keeping the product simple to use.
Lastly, Honoré Gaming’s recent partnership with Smartico reflects its investment in gamification. Where do you see the greatest opportunities for these tools to improve the player experience across African markets?
Investment in gamification will see us move beyond classic promotions and create experiences that are more relevant to each player. Across our markets, interests and expectations vary, so being able to adapt missions, rewards and communication is valuable.
Gamification can also give players a clearer sense of progression, through loyalty levels, achievable milestones and rewards that are easy to understand. Tournaments and community challenges can add another dimension to the games they already enjoy.
Our partnership with Smartico supports that direction. The priority is to keep these experiences simple, locally relevant and rewarding, with transparent conditions. The technology gives us more flexibility, and how we use it for each audience makes the difference.
