Players everywhere love betting and gambling, but they don’t all bet on the same things. Consumer demand in different markets is shaped by regulation, economics, culture, and user habits. Slotegrator offers a detailed analysis of what games are popular in the markets of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Western and Eastern Europe.
Operators should take a careful approach to game choice. Relying on their own taste is not recommended — careful market analysis will offer better results.
Regulations need to be taken into account. For example, some countries allow sportsbooks, but not online casinos (in which case players usually turn to offshore platforms). Likewise, operators often have a list of markets their licensing authority allows them to target.
Culture and economics
In addition to legal factors, it is important to consider cultural and economic aspects when choosing games.
Knowing the expectations of players from different countries can help operators offer them the right games. Markets often have a prevailing general taste — for example, users might like to see their favorite legends, plots, motifs, and their characters in games.
An analysis of the country’s economy will give the operator information on bonuses and offers relevant to this market, as well as reveal the habits that players have — how often they play, whether they prefer large or small bets, and so on.
Games in Latin America
LatAm is a region of several major markets, including Mexico, Peru, and Brazil.
Players from this region prefer to play online, with many of them betting on mobile.
Latin Americans actively bet on sports, in particular football, which is a huge part of their culture. Cockfighting and baseball are also popular here.
Slots are also in demand. Latin American players prefer to bet small, but often. This is what distinguishes them from online casino users from Europe and Africa, who bet rarely, but in a big way. Bingo is also very, very popular.
Suppliers: Igrosoft, Pragmatic Play, Platypus, Booongo, Thunderkick, Nolimit City
Games in Africa
The most attractive markets for operators in Africa are Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa — according to experts, the GGR of this market will reach $2.3 billion by 2023.
Online casino games have been catching on in the region, but the main passion of African players is sports betting. This is due to socio-cultural factors, as well as the low availability of online casinos. In some jurisdictions — for example, in South Africa and Nigeria — online casinos are prohibited, while sportsbooks are legal.
Recently, virtual sports have been gaining popularity among Africans, especially when it comes to young mobile phone users who love football and make small but frequent bets.
When it comes to making deposits and receiving winnings, Africans prefer to do it through their mobile operators or mobile wallets, so it is important to integrate these methods into online casino platforms.
Games in Western Europe
Western Europe is something of an iGaming promised land, with several of the world’s richest and best-regulated gambling markets.
Both online casinos and sports betting are popular in Denmark and Sweden. Players from the UK and Ireland are mainly interested in online betting — they especially like horse racing. Online betting is regulated there, as is online gambling, but sportsbooks are more in demand among players. Along with legal poker, sports betting and casino gaming are also popular in France. In Belgium, slots are not legal, which is why online casino users love dice games.
Previously, residents of Germany could only play in a land-based casino, but recently online gambling and betting have been legalized.
Providers: Amatic, Evolution Gaming, Playson, EGT Interactive, Endorphina, Gamzix
Games in Eastern Europe
The gambling industry in Eastern Europe is a very hot topic. The main player here is Ukraine. After 11 years, the country got rid of the ban on gambling, and today this market is fully regulated.
The economic growth and smart regulation in the Baltics make this region a good place to run an iGaming business. The licensing process for both online casinos and sportsbooks has been established in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Traditional casino games — poker, blackjack, baccarat, bingo — are favorites. For betting, they are interested in sports such as basketball, hockey, and ice cricket.
The gambling sector of Georgia and Armenia is expanding every year. In Georgia, only those operators who have a license for a land-based project can offer online casinos and sportsbooks. And Armenia is still on the road to regulation.
Suppliers: Igrosoft, Amatic, Endorphina, Evolution Gaming, Spinomenal, KA Gaming
Games in Asia
Asia’s economy is developing at a rapid pace, and legislation is gradually being liberalized. There are several large markets in the region that are of interest to operators — India, China, and Pakistan.
People from these countries love live dealer games and sports betting, and the most popular sport is cricket. Indian players are also fans of rummy and local game Teen Patti.
The only legal forms of betting in China are lotteries and horse racing, which are run by a state monopoly. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, sports betting and lotteries are available, but only offline at the exclusive Hong Kong Jockey Club. Macau, of course, is famously known as “The Vegas of the East” for its stunning land-based casinos.
Chinese players like to visit offshore casinos. They prefer Philippine-based live dealer games like Dragon Tiger and Sic Bo and other games with a cultural theme.
Providers: Evolution Gaming, Platypus, Ezugi, Vivo Gaming, Pragmatic Play, Tom Horn
Slotegrator helps operators meet players' expectations
As a gaming content aggregator, Slotegrator offers over 7,000 games from 85 developers across multiple regions and verticals. The Slotegrator team follows changes both in developers’ offerings and the industry at large. And the APIgrator solution allows you to integrate all the available games into the gambling platform in one session.
Slotegrator’s specialists will help you to choose the games that are relevant to the preferences of your target market, and thus meet the expectations of the target online casino audience.
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