Logifuture powers some of Africa’s leading sportsbooks, including Bet9ja, Premier Bet and Hollywood Bets. It provides a 360-degree platform and award-winning individual virtual products, such as Simulate and Zoom Soccer. Here, CEO Vincenzo Rocco talks exclusively to iGaming Afrika about how the company is fuelling partners’ success across the continent…
What trends are you seeing from B2B clients in Africa?
Naturally, it varies by country, but in Africa’s major betting markets we’re seeing rapid improvements in mobile and internet penetration. This has been developing over the past few years, but certain countries are now leapfrogging straight to 5G without going through 3G or 4G.
As connectivity improves, we’re witnessing strong growth in demand for advanced games and more immersive content. Casino and virtual games are becoming increasingly popular alongside traditional sports betting. Live betting, in particular, is growing rapidly thanks to this improved infrastructure.
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Which markets are most important for Logifuture’s growth?
Nigeria is a key market, without a doubt. South Africa is also a major player in the industry, and Kenya is highly advanced in terms of mobile infrastructure and digital adoption. Tanzania is another market that’s catching up fast. In addition, we work with Premier Bet in a number of Francophone countries with our Zoom Soccer product.
Our strategy is built around two core pillars. The first is our 360 offering, where we provide clients with a full turnkey solution – this includes our sportsbook platform and a suite of services such as marketing, trading, fraud prevention, and more. Essentially, we help them operate as a fully functioning bookmaker.
The second pillar is our individual-product offering, where we offer key games and virtual products we’ve developed. This model is more focused on scale, working with clients individually across multiple markets.
Are you building your games specifically with mobile-first users in mind?
Absolutely. We’re evolving our games to offer more advanced graphics while still optimising them for low data consumption. We’ve always been mindful of bandwidth, even designing for browsers like Opera, which allow users to save data.
Now, we’re expanding to offer more sophisticated content while also considering the user journey. In many African markets, users may still need guidance to navigate casino categories or understand slot mechanics – unlike in Europe, where users are more familiar. So we build with education and ease of access in mind, supported by a 3D user experience.
What kind of tools or features help bridge that educational gap?
We’ve had success with cross-selling products like our Swipe games, which integrate via SDK directly into a bookmaker’s page. For example, if a user is browsing their favourite football league, they might see a small icon that lets them quickly play a themed game – easing them into the product experience.
Your virtual products, like Simulate and Zoom, are quite distinctive. How are they received in African markets?
They’re extremely popular. Virtual games have long been in demand in Africa because they provide always-available content. Simulate is particularly effective as a soft entry point for RNG games. It sits directly in the bet slip, so users can toggle between real and simulated events, with instant results – which aligns with current user preferences.
Zoom is slightly different – it’s a live feed that integrates into the sportsbook like regular events, running 24/7. It’s also possible to combine them with real events, so users can place a bet on, say, a real Premier League match and a Zoom Premier League match simultaneously.
What we’re seeing is that Zoom is often more popular than obscure lower-division real leagues. For instance, rather than betting on a Japan third division match in the morning, a user in Nigeria is more likely to engage with a simulated Premier League fixture via Zoom – because they recognise the teams and understand their relative strengths.
You’ve previously said that local and cultural understanding is vital to success in Africa. Could you expand on that?
Absolutely. Each country in Africa has its own regulatory environment and cultural context. While some are making efforts to align with more established regulatory frameworks – like those in Europe or the UK – there’s still a lot of divergence.
Is that more of a challenge or an opportunity for Logifuture?
It’s definitely more of a challenge. There’s a great deal of uncertainty, and things can change quickly. A new government, for example, might overhaul the existing regulatory framework entirely, disregarding previous structures. This makes long-term planning difficult.
However, we are seeing regulatory bodies working to bring more stability to their markets, which is encouraging – particularly for attracting foreign investment.
It requires our team to be agile and deeply knowledgeable about each individual market. Speed to market and having the right local contacts are absolutely essential.
Finally, what are your predictions for the African market over the next five to ten years?
We expect to see significant growth in player experience and product sophistication – gradually aligning with more mature markets. The availability of higher-quality content, fast-paced betting markets and always-on virtual products will continue to drive growth.
As internet access improves, this shift will accelerate. And with the right regulatory stability in key markets like Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya, we’ll likely see increased M&A activity from larger international operators entering these markets. At present, the space is largely dominated by local players.
And as the market matures, user education becomes less of a hurdle?
Yes – but education remains vital in the short to mid-term. Regulators and operators need to work together to raise standards and promote responsible gambling.
Without a proper framework in place, there’s a risk of harm. It’s something we take seriously, and we hope to see more collaboration across the industry on this front.