“Everyone is obsessed with Nigeria, but there are other countries in Africa,” said Altenar Director and COO Dinos Stranomitis, as the software provider prepares to launch an omnichannel sportsbook offeringfor its new partner in Congo, Wildbets.
Stranomitis explained that, for African countries, it is crucial to provide a sportsbook platform that enables the client to collect bets via physical points of sale (POS), as well as online.
It is equally crucial to consider the cost of data plans in African countries, which is why Altenar has developed both a ‘Mobile Full’ and ‘Mobile Lite’ version for users to access.
“When it comes to internet access for people in those countries, it is not as we experience it in Europe because data is expensive,” said Stranomitis. “That’s why browsers like Opera Mini are popular, with a data saving mode to restrict heavy pages.
“If you want to work in countries such as Congo, you have to develop a lite version of the platform, especially for sports betting, which is more or less text display only.
“For example, it has no JavaScript, no automatic refresh. You have to refresh the page yourself to see a score update because any auto refresh is a consumption of data that is not welcome.”
Stranomitis then delivered a demo of how this works for Wildbets mobile users, who start the process by picking between the two versions – ‘Mobile Full’ and ‘Mobile Lite’.
Likely, this will depend on their connection if they are on the move, whether they can afford to pay for a smartphone or more data, or whether they are accessing free Wi-Fi fr om a betting shop.
Once the user has made their selection, they can choose ‘Place Bet’ if they are logged in and wish to bet with their account credit, or ‘Book Bet’ if they prefer to place the bet with a cashier at more than 200 Wildbets shops.
For those picking this omnichannel, physical POS option, ‘Book Bet’ will trigger a QR code for the cashier to scan. The customer then pays and receives a ticket, which can later be redeemed in cash or credited to the account if the bet is successful.
Stranomitis added that there is a third component to the bet placement process developed for Wildbets, besides both in-shop and online, which comes in the form of USSD betting.
For those unaware, this is wh ere the user can bet using a dedicated code dialed on their mobile phone, without the need for internet service. The details of the bet are delivered via text message and the money is taken as part of your phone subscription.
Reflecting on Altenar’s new launch with Wildbets, a licensed operator in Congo, Stranomitis concluded: “We are really pleased to secure this partnership. I like the fact that it’s a market that many don’t consider as a key target in Africa.
“Africa is not only Nigeria, Kenya or South Africa. Congo has established a licensing process within a regulatory framework, and we are looking forward to getting started with Wildbets.”
