Landmark Merger in Africa Between Incentive and Newplay Offers New Regional Sustainability
Published July 20, 2020 by Lee R
A refreshing and ambitious merger in Africa suddenly has the continent suddenly looking highly attractive.
A new merger is set to face Africa with some innovative adaptations in its technology.
The Deal
The partnership between content developer Incentive Games and UK-based mobile entertainment investor NewPlay group will focus on East and West Africa to provide specialty market gaming and media content services.
The Product Offering
Incentive will offer leading virtual football wagering to Newplay operator brands: Kenya's Playabet and Ghana's Betyetu.
Specialised Virtual Wagering
The virtual wagering has been optimised for low-spec smartphones, appropriate for developing markets with less penetration while featuring wagering opportunities for periods of live sports suspension.
The virtual wagering product, or “v-leagues,” represent virtual versions of live leagues such as the English Premier League and La Liga, with the virtual leagues completing a full season cycle every two hours.
Incentive CEO Speaks
Incentive Games chief executive John Gordon expressed excitement at the prospect of
working with Betyetu on the virtuals project in Kenya and Ghana, while hinting at further expansion with full resumption of live sporting activities worldwide in support of “NewPlay Group’s activity as it continues to be a market leader in the African iGaming industry."
NewPlay CEO Speaks
NewPlay Group CEO Conor O'Donovan cited “significant research” on the part of his organisation to the technology and market constraints of African jurisdictions which paved the way to find a suitable partner for the virtuals project:
Incentive's Allure
O'Donovan said his organisation was attracted to Incentive due to the balance Incentive has achieved
in delivering a compelling UX while remaining light and accessible on low-end devices," and also looks forward to expanding the cooperative effort into other territories in for 2020/2021.
Outlook
Features such as continuous play and season cycles every two hours indicate a potentially dynamic sustainability that can carry the expansion of this project whether live sports resume in full or not, and provides hope for Africa to gain greater social and revenue benefits from iGaming.
