SOFTSWISS and KingMakers at ICE Barcelona 2026: Scaling Across African Markets

At ICE Barcelona 2026, SOFTSWISS contributed to a fireside chat on scaling businesses in African iGaming markets. Olga Resiga, Chief Business Development Officer at SOFTSWISS, and Ronnie Whelan, CEO of KingMakers, discussed how operators can expand sustainably across different African jurisdictions by adapting product strategy to local player behaviour, building retention-first mechanics for low-stakes audiences, and staying agile in regulatory compliance.

During the discussion, Ronnie Whelan highlighted that Africa offers strong growth potential thanks to rising smartphone use, better mobile connectivity, and a young, digitally engaged audience. However, he stressed that operators cannot apply a single approach across all markets. Success depends on understanding how local players behave.

Although the market is largely shaped by low-stakes players, success comes from managing large player volumes through personalised strategies. This requires deep player analytics, precise bonus management, and personalised marketing mechanics applied at scale. This is exactly where SOFTSWISS focuses its efforts – helping operators combine volume, efficiency, and sustainable growth through technology and expertise.

Olga Resiga

Chief Business Development Officer at SOFTSWISS

The speakers explored the differences in player preferences. For example, Nigeria leans towards sports betting, while South Africa favours casino games. To succeed, operators must adapt their product mix, gamification, and retention strategies. Regulation and compliance were other key topics. Ronnie Whelan noted that in the evolving regulatory frameworks across Africa, cooperation with local authorities is essential. Operators must build systems that can adapt to regulatory changes while protecting players.

African markets offer strong growth potential, but they reward focus and discipline. Operators need to understand each market on its own terms. That’s the only way to build products that genuinely fit local players. Discussions like this are valuable because they move the conversation beyond headlines and into practical execution.

Ronnie Whelan

CEO of KingMakers

Whelan also views crypto and stablecoins as worth exploring and potentially valuable, provided operators adopt them responsibly.

These themes extend beyond Africa and are explored in greater depth in the 2026 iGaming Trends report by SOFTSWISS, which covers global market dynamics including regulation, AI adoption, betting formats, cybersecurity, and responsible gambling.