The African iGaming Alliance, working with regulators, industry groups and other partners across the continent, will stage the first Africa Safer Gambling Week from 7 to 11 September 2026. The drive, carried under the banner PlaySafeAfrica, is meant to put player protection, responsible play and public awareness at the centre of markets that are growing fast.
How licensed operators, associations and responsible gambling bodies are being asked to line up behind one aim: that the boom in mobile connectivity and online platforms does not outrun the duty to keep players safe. The Lagos State Lottery and Gaming Authority, under Bashir Are, is among those backing the week.
Over five days, participating markets will share a mix of regulatory and industry talks, public education, community work and digital campaigns. Organisers plan a formal launch with the press, a continental webinar so regulators and operators can speak to one another, and outreach on the ground. Each day will take a different angle: gambling with care, knowing and setting personal limits, using the tools already built into licensed products, keeping minors out, and spelling out the harm that comes with illegal and unlicensed sites.
Peter Emolemo Kesitilwe, Chief Executive Officer of the Alliance, said growth and protection have to move together. As Africa’s gambling trade expands, he argued, safeguards for players must expand with it. The week, in his words, gathers regulators and the industry around that shared duty, and he stressed that customers should have the information and tools to decide with a clear head. Safety, he said, is not a slogan for one campaign but the standard every week.
Olabimpe Akingba, a board member of the Alliance and Head of Responsible Gaming at pawaTech, cast the programme as collaboration made real rather than another round of talk. Player protection, she said, is where that commitment should show, and Africa Safer Gambling Week is that work in practice.
Jurisdictions taking part will get shared campaign material, with room to shape the message to local law, communities and custom. A clear thread will be the push toward licensed, regulated operators. Unlicensed play, the organisers warn, thins out the safeguards, the routes for complaint and the oversight that help when trouble starts.
The Alliance holds that no single camp can carry player protection alone. Regulators, licensed houses, trade bodies and responsible gambling groups will have to stay in step as markets mature. After 2026, the week is meant to return every year as a standing place to share what works and to keep safer gambling high on the policy list. Through PlaySafeAfrica, the Alliance and its partners want a public that understands the rules of play, and an industry that treats consumer protection as part of how African gaming and betting can last. Zoyols News will stay with the story as the week approaches.
