An iGaming strategy should be tested against the market it intends to serve before an operator commits to a full launch. Local payment methods, familiar language and a recognised brand ambassador may help a company enter a country, but they do not establish whether its products suit the audience or whether its campaigns give players a reason to return.
In Episode 20 of the iGaming AFRIKA Podcast, Dr Kolade Abisoye, Founder of iGaming WriteNow, argues that operators need a more thorough assessment of their assumptions. His “African Market Relevance Test” examines products, platforms, campaigns, partnerships and activations to identify where a company’s plans fall short of local realities.
Speaking to host Victoria Abiodun, Abisoye identified two assumptions that can undermine market entry. The first is treating Africa as a single market. The second is assuming that a product has been localised once its language, currency and payment methods have been adapted. He explained that localisation also involves how a business operates under local regulations, how it markets its products and how those products fit players’ interests and behaviour. Cultural slang may make a campaign sound familiar, but it tells an operator little about whether its offering suits the people it wants to reach.
“All these are parts of what localisation entails, but localisation itself is a subset of building relevance in the iGaming space,” he said.
He further described localisation at the macro level as understanding the legislation and regulatory frameworks that govern each market. At the micro level, the focus turns to player interests, behaviour and communication. It also extends to marketing and the way a brand presents its products, with each part of the business requiring attention to local conditions. “It’s not for the players to adapt to a company’s offerings, it’s for the company to ensure that its offerings and products speak the way the players relate with gambling so it’s relevant to them and they can opt in and use the product,” he explained.
Visibility does not establish market relevance
Operators can spend heavily on influencers, celebrity endorsements and promotions, attract new players and still struggle to keep them. Abisoye acknowledged the pressure to compete for attention, particularly in markets dominated by established brands, but argued that campaigns must give players enough information to decide whether to use a platform. This includes explaining its products, how they work and the terms of its offers.
“Chasing visibility is a common theme among brands in the iGaming space in Nigeria and Africa, and it’s understandable. A number of heavyweight brands control the majority of attention, so it’s normal for other brands to try to compete by trying to be visible to users. But it’s better for brands to build content systems, local partnerships, and activations that help them be more relevant beyond just being visible.
Visibility is the first stage of a customer’s journey—the awareness stage. But there still needs to be consideration and decision-making where they convert the customer into a paying user. Brands are mostly stuck at the visibility stage because they have to compete for user attention and lean towards short-term tactics like influencers and content creators. While these work in the short term, they are basically vanity metrics,” he said.
He outlined three areas where brands should develop that relationship. Content should connect the stages of the customer journey, from introducing the brand to explaining its products, bonus claims and how to use the platform. Local partnerships should give operators access to people who understand the market and player behaviour, helping them make informed decisions before committing launch budgets. Activations, meanwhile, should offer more than celebrity ambassadors or familiar match-day viewing events. He encouraged brands to create memorable experiences that entertain players beyond placing bets and give them a reason to maintain a relationship with the brand.
These areas underpin iGaming WriteNow’s African Market Relevance Test, an in-house framework that assesses products, platforms, campaigns, partnerships and activations for gaps in their suitability for local markets. Recommendations can include a coordinated content system across a brand’s blog and social channels, partnerships that resolve product or platform gaps, and locally appropriate campaigns and events. Abisoye said initial assessments shared with some brands had helped them recognise operational shortcomings, with potential deals under discussion to implement the proposed changes.
Content should inform commercial decisions
Content can also help operators understand what players need and where they encounter difficulties. Abisoye explained that search behaviour, campaign performance and interactions with content can reveal questions that a brand has yet to answer. AI can help teams analyse this information at a scale they could struggle to manage alone, but the findings should influence what the business does next. “However, market intelligence should improve decision-making, not just increase message volume,” he said. He cautioned against using AI simply to publish generic material faster, arguing that content should respond to actual player needs and support more informed decisions.
Local expertise remains essential to that process. Abisoye said people who understand the industry and its audiences must assess whether AI-generated material is accurate and appropriate for the market. “Local experts who understand the industry without AI must act as quality assurance gates to evaluate the output, ensuring it sounds, feels, and fits the standards of local African markets.” Research and behavioural data can inform a content strategy, but someone still has to judge whether the language, interpretation and advice make sense to the people receiving them.
Responsible communication is part of the test
Abisoye also argued that a brand’s relevance depends on how honestly it communicates with players. “Responsible messaging must be built in by design, not added as an afterthought,” he said. Referring to Nigeria, he described a gap between the familiarity of football-led sports betting and players’ understanding of broader casino products. In his assessment, limited product knowledge can leave people gambling for the wrong reasons, including attempts to resolve financial difficulties or make quick money. He called for acquisition content that explains how games work, the risks involved and responsible play, rather than relying entirely on promotions and age disclaimers.
He offered iGaming WriteNow’s match-day content engine as an example of how those principles can shape everyday communication. The tool restricts language that guarantees wins or describes selections as “sure bankers”, addressing misleading promises before the content reaches players. Alongside that engine, he described the company’s insights blog and African Market Relevance reports, which explain the operational implications of industry developments, and its iGaming Right Now app, which includes glossaries and six-level localisation checklists covering major West African markets.
Test the assumption before committing the budget
Abisoye argued that the problem lies in how localisation is carried out. “A brand doesn’t over-localize by doing ‘too much’ localization, but rather by localizing wrongly,” he said. He recommended beginning with one country, one priority audience, one business objective and one assumption to test. The results give operators evidence on which to base further decisions while preserving consistent brand standards. Core messaging, brand voice and offerings can remain recognisable, with regulations, language, cultural tone, local wording and payment methods addressed market by market.
He recommended the same discipline for partnerships. Before committing, operators should establish whether a prospective partner serves a compatible audience, what assets or knowledge it contributes, who is responsible for the work and how success will be measured. “What is the partner trying to solve for us that we cannot efficiently do for ourselves?” he asked. A low-cost pilot allows both parties to assess that contribution before a larger commitment. Across market entry, localisation and partnerships, his advice was to test the assumptions behind the strategy before spending at scale.
