AiA CEO says Africa Safer Gambling Week should turn into year-round cooperation across licensed markets

Peter Kesitilwe wants the inaugural Africa Safer Gambling Week to do more than fill a calendar slot. The African iGaming Alliance (AiA) is using the week to push regulators, operators and industry groups toward practical player-protection work that continues after the campaign ends.

1. The AiA hosted the first Africa Safer Gambling Week this week, bringing together stakeholders including regulators, operators and industry associations. Kesitilwe said the point is to move safer gambling discussions out of conference rooms and into actions that educate players, engage communities, protect young people and spotlight illegal and unlicensed gambling.
2. The campaign will run annually, but Kesitilwe stressed that responsible gambling has to be treated as a daily operational issue, not a once-a-year theme. “The campaign may run for a week, but responsible gambling must be practiced throughout the year,” he said.
3. Each day of the week focused on a separate player-protection issue, including responsible gambling and the prevention of underage gambling. Kesitilwe said Africa is not a single market in regulatory or social terms, so the goal is not one continental rulebook but locally relevant messaging backed by cross-border cooperation.
4. He said the campaign generated over a million online impressions, which he sees as evidence of “a real appetite” for safer gambling efforts across Africa. For operators and PSPs, that matters because awareness campaigns only work if licensed brands, regulators and payment partners reinforce the same message in practice.
5. Kesitilwe singled out underage gambling as the biggest concern, especially as mobile penetration in Africa continues to soar. He also flagged gambling ads in sports content, saying viewers can see “10 to 20” adverts at a break or half time, with children repeating the ads at home.

The practical takeaway for high-risk payments players is simple enough: if a market is pushing harder on player protection, ad exposure, and unlicensed activity, PSPs and acquirers will be expected to show they understand the same risks their merchants face.