Experience Shaping Strategy
Industry veteran Zsuzsanna Zeibig has built a career spanning land-based casino operations and digital gaming leadership. Now serving as General Manager at EGT Digital Kenya, she brings a pragmatic, market-grounded perspective to one of the fastest-growing gaming regions globally. Her approach reflects a central belief: rapid expansion without responsible frameworks is unsustainable.
With Africa’s gaming sector accelerating, Zeibig emphasises that experience across multiple gaming verticals provides critical context for navigating regulatory diversity, infrastructure limitations, and evolving player behaviour.
Africa Is Not One Market
A recurring theme in Zeibig’s outlook is rejecting the misconception of Africa as a single, uniform opportunity. Each jurisdiction presents its own:
- Regulatory architecture
- Cultural expectations
- Payment ecosystem maturity
- Player engagement patterns
From Kenya to Nigeria and Tanzania, Zeibig highlights that success depends on precision localisation, not global replication. What resonates with players in Nairobi may differ significantly from preferences in Lagos or Dar es Salaam.
Operators that attempt standardised rollouts often encounter friction, ranging from compliance misalignment to poor product adoption.
Local Presence as a Competitive Advantage
Unlike companies managing African operations remotely, EGT Digital has invested in building regional expertise. Zeibig underscores that maintaining a physical presence within African markets allows operators to better understand:
- Consumer behaviour
- Regulatory priorities
- Market-specific operational challenges
Hiring and empowering local talent strengthens cultural alignment and enhances product relevance. According to Zeibig, teams embedded within the ecosystem can adapt faster to market shifts, regulatory updates, and player expectations.
This proximity-driven strategy transforms localisation from a marketing exercise into an operational discipline.
Balancing Growth With Responsibility
While Africa offers immense commercial potential, Zeibig cautions that growth metrics must be balanced with responsible gaming safeguards. Digital betting environments increase accessibility, speed, and frequency of play, all factors linked to heightened behavioural risk.
Challenges unique to some African markets include simplified registration processes and uneven consumer education around gambling risks. Zeibig argues that operators must proactively embed:
- Deposit controls
- Self-exclusion mechanisms
- Behavioural monitoring tools
- Clear responsible gaming messaging
Responsible gaming, she notes, is not merely regulatory compliance, it is risk mitigation, brand protection, and long-term market preservation.
Technology’s Role in Sustainable Expansion
Zeibig advocates for greater use of technology-driven oversight systems capable of identifying early indicators of problematic play. AI-powered analytics, session tracking, and behavioural modelling can help operators intervene before harm escalates.
Such tools also assist with fraud detection, AML compliance, and player protection, areas becoming increasingly scrutinised by African regulators.
For Zeibig, technology should serve dual purposes: driving efficiency and protecting players.
Collaboration Across the Ecosystem
Zeibig also highlights the importance of cooperation between operators, regulators, and industry stakeholders. Conferences, regulatory dialogues, and cross-market knowledge sharing are essential for building cohesive and adaptive frameworks.
She stresses that responsible scaling requires:
- Regulatory transparency
- Industry education initiatives
- Data-informed policymaking
- Shared best practices
Markets thrive when growth and governance evolve together rather than in isolation.
Conclusion: Responsible Scaling as the Future
Africa’s iGaming trajectory shows no signs of slowing. Yet Zeibig’s message remains clear: expansion strategies must prioritise localisation, technological sophistication, and responsible gaming integration.
Operators that scale responsibly are more likely to secure regulatory trust, sustain player engagement, and achieve durable profitability.
In a region defined by opportunity and complexity, discipline, not speed alone, defines success.
