- Sunday, April 28, 2024
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PalmPay has called
for the promotion of responsible gaming by stakeholders in the industry to
protect sports pundits from potential risks common to the industry.
The focus on
responsible gaming was apt for several reasons. According to data compiled last
year by Dutch research firm, Newzoo, sub-Saharan Africa’s gaming industry would
generate over $1 billion for the first time this year, signifying a buoyant
market for gaming enthusiasts in the continent.
Also, Nigeria’s
betting industry reached over $2 billion in 2020, with over 60 million citizens
between the ages of 18 and 40 spending $5.5 million daily on betting, according
to a 2023 report by the Orange Business Intelligence Technology (ORBIT).
The
Africa-focused fintech platform spoke at the Africa Gaming Expo which took place
in Lagos between March 12 and 15, 2024. It was a melting pot for gaming
enthusiasts, regulatory bodies and digital payment platforms from Nigeria,
South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Botswana and other African countries to
promote responsible gaming across the continent.
A lineup of
distinguished panelists from around the continent on the occasion included
PalmPay’s Head of Biller Business Development, Wayne Ruppel. He offered
insights into the latest trends, innovations and challenges facing the gaming
industry in Africa, with a focus on the need to promote responsible gaming
among gamers on the continent.
Speaking on: “The
Role of Payment Providers in Facilitating Secured Transactions in the Gaming
Industry,” Mr Wayne spoke on initiatives the company was putting in place to
raise awareness and protect gamers from potential fraud risks in the gaming
industry.
“At PalmPay, our
wallet is secure and has multi-factor security authentication features,
including device-binding. This means there must be confirmation before a user
logs into your account. When someone illegally tries to log into a user’s
account, they’ll be required to identify themselves, including facial
recognition.
“Also, among
other security features and awareness programmes to promote responsible gaming,
we run educational campaigns across our media channels to educate PalmPay users
about the need to secure their wallets.
“Furthermore,
we’ve optimized payout. Initially, people could create a betting account and
use it to withdraw money into another betting account with a different name.
With our name-binding feature, that is no longer possible. With this feature,
the name on the account a user is withdrawing to must correspond with the name
on the payout account,” Mr Wayne said.
As a digital
payment platform of choice for gamers, PalmPay offers customers of the biggest
betting companies in Nigeria secure and safe payment gateways to fund their
betting wallets. The fintech platform recently signed up a strategic
partnership with BetKing to promote responsible gaming in Nigeria.
With a
population of over 200 million, Nigeria is Africa’s largest betting market. A
National Sports Industry policy document released in 2023 noted that in over 10
years, the betting industry would generate up to $4.7 billion in annual
revenue, create 10 million jobs and generate between 1.5-3per cent of gross
domestic product (GDP).
This exponential
growth in the gaming industry in Africa, with a population of over 1.4 billion
people, means that more Africans between the ages of 18 and 40 are at risk of
fraud and other security risks associated with the gaming industry. However,
PalmPay’s multi-factor security authentication features can mitigate these
risks.
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