SportingbetSA first native operator to go mobile
Netbet launches first legal mobile sportsbetting app in South Africa under Sportingbet brand
SportingbetSA has launched the first legal mobile sportsbetting application in South Africa with the firm looking to capitalise on being an early adopter of mobile betting in the country.
The iOS version of the app is currently available to download via Apple’s App Store, with an Android version also in development.
The SportingbetSA brand is owned by GVC Holdings following its acquisition of the non-Spanish and Australian-facing Sportingbet business in March, however, it is operated under agreement by Cape Town-based operator NetBet.
NetBet’s association with the Sportingbet business also includes the provision of technology, enabling the mobile app to offer in-play betting on popular markets, such as Premier League and Champions League football.
“It presents the first legal opportunity for South Africans to wager on events using an app,” Scott Canny, marketing manager at SportingbetSA, said.
Mobile sportsbetting is considered a natural extension to existing online gambling regulation in the country, with South African gaming law firm Lurie Inc director Wayne Lurie considering other domestic operators to be slow to embrace the platform.
“I think the sector in SA is quite old school bricks and mortar in general, shop front style and not very early adopting,” Lurie said.
Other online operators in the country include BetTech, formerly known as Krugerbets, and the Intralot-owned fixed-odds sports betting site Just.Bet.co.za.
Mobile has come to be an integral platform for egaming operators throughout 2013, and recent studies suggest there could be as many as 164 million unique users of mobile gambling services by 2018.