Speaking ahead of his appearance at October’s ICE Africa where he will join Max Wilkie, payment services director at Sportpesa and Dolan Beuthin, CEO, BestBet360, Wakaba explained: “I’m taking part in ICE Africa to share views from a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) perspective whilst also learn from other players within the chain. As an MNO, we maintain a relationship with betting companies, end-users and the government and it is important for MNOs to be a part of the growing conversation on responsible growth of the sector. I hope to be able to share and receive useful insights with and from the other key stakeholders in the industry.”  

As MNOs and the African betting landscape look to the future following the regulatory crack down, Wakaba believes it is vital that the telecom industry becomes part of the conversation, not just in Kenya, but with operators, regulators and thought-leaders across all of the continent’s regulated gaming economies. “There has been a trend across East African regulatory bodies to effect policies borrowed from neighbouring jurisdictions so [tougher regulations] for operators is a distinct possibility. I believe that the best approach is to learn from the spirit of each regulation and to align on how best to self-regulate.”  

“Helping to promote responsible gambling via more open dialogue with operators and regulators is an important issue for MNO,” he continued. “It’s one of the key mandates that we have is to ensure access to our platforms are only available to citizens of adult age. In order to do this, we undertake proper due diligence and ensure sufficient KYC. We also ascertain that our partners including betting operators are valid entities that have all the requisite regulatory approvals to operate in their respective business.”  

ICE Africa (2-3 October, Sandton Convention Centre, South Africa) provides an invaluable opportunity for operators, regulators and suppliers to meet, network, share best practice and see the very latest gaming products and services from the industry’s leading innovators.  Described by industry observers as ‘A showcase event that Africa can be proud of’ attendees will benefit from a programme of engaging content including Thought Leadership, Training, Regulation, Online vs. Retail, Integrated Resorts, Branding, Marketing, Sports and eSports.

Wakaba will form part of the Optimizing Payment Processing in a Market Dominated by Online Solutions panel on the first day of this year’s ICE Africa which will draw parallels and case studies from multiple jurisdictions across the continent to explore how different payment solutions have been implemented and optimised as well as the challenges that have been faced along the way. The session will be moderated by Thanos Marinos, Co-Founder, EnterGSolutions.  

For more information on all of the opportunities available at gaming's only B2B pan-African event and to register, visit: www.iceafrica.za.com