Player acquisition in South Africa: What converts and what doesn’t in a mobile-first betting market?
At SiGMA Africa 2026 in Cape Town, industry leaders gathered to examine one of the most pressing commercial questions facing operators across the continent: how to acquire players efficiently in a fast-maturing mobile-first betting market. The panel “Player Acquisition in South Africa: What Converts and What Doesn’t” brought together marketing, technology, and CRM perspectives to unpack what genuinely drives sustainable growth.
Moderated by Gali Hartuv, Co-Founder and CEO of WarriorLab, the discussion featured Gail Odgers, Head of Marketing at Virgin Bet South Africa, Yevhen Krazhan, Chief Sales Officer at GR8 Tech, Andre Scheun, Chief Marketing Officer at PantherBet, and Henry Ross, Account Executive at Optimove. Together, they explored acquisition strategy, rising customer acquisition costs, and the relationship between brand building, data intelligence, and long-term player value.
What drives player acquisition?
Opening the discussion, Hartuv reminded delegates that South Africa’s betting ecosystem is defined by mobile access and a growing number of competing brands. While most acquisition journeys now begin and end on mobile devices, trust and brand credibility remain essential to conversion.
Odgers pointed to a common misconception within marketing teams: an over-reliance on last click attribution when evaluating campaign success.“As a market, we often attribute the final click to a specific channel, but brand awareness drives that click in the first place,” she said.
Ross supported this view from a CRM and data perspective, explaining that acquisition metrics alone can create a misleading picture of player value. “There may be a misleading picture because you have not got a holistic or deep enough view of what the player is engaging with,” he explained. “If you only look at acquisition without considering long term value, inefficiencies begin to appear.”
The discussion highlighted the need for operators to connect acquisition data with retention insights, particularly in markets where bonus structures and promotional offers can distort early funnel performance.
“Acquisition and retention go hand in hand. If you are not reinforcing brand value, you are not protecting lifetime value,” said Gail Odgers, Head of Marketing at Virgin Bet South Africa.
Rising CAC in South Africa
As the panel moved toward customer acquisition costs, Scheun addressed growing competitive pressure among operators entering the South African market. “There are early signs of a CAC arms race,” he noted. “There is a limited pool of players and we are all chasing the same audience, which pushes digital inventory prices up.”He also warned that bonus competition can further inflate acquisition costs as players become increasingly aware of promotional mechanics across platforms.
Odgers added that brand investment can help operators withstand these pressures over time. “If we focus only on performance channels, we acquire a player at a high cost and they simply forget our brand,” she said. “Acquisition and retention go hand in hand. If you are not reinforcing brand value, you are not protecting lifetime value.” The panel also discussed which acquisition channels currently scale. Social media, according to Odgers, remains one of the most versatile tools for both performance marketing and brand awareness, given its reach across everyday consumer behaviour.
Scheun offered a nuanced perspective: “If you want volume, social media scales. But if you want fewer players with higher value and longer lifetime, search often captures the player at the moment of intent.”
Can technology predict value?
Technology and data intelligence formed another key theme of the discussion, particularly when assessing the long-term value of newly acquired players. Krazhan explained that modern platforms now provide deeper behavioural metrics that help operators identify quality earlier in the player lifecycle.“One important metric is the time between the first deposit and the second deposit,” he said. “The first deposit is about volume, but the time to the second deposit begins to show the quality of the player.”
Advanced segmentation tools and AI-driven recommendation engines can also help operators personalise offers and content at scale. According to Krazhan, these capabilities are becoming essential in markets where players often maintain multiple betting accounts simultaneously.
Ross reinforced the importance of evaluating player value beyond the first deposit milestone.“If you analyse the first ninety days and feed that information back into acquisition channels, you can improve long-term conversion,” he explained. “In many cases, we recommend looking at predictive twelve-month values to inform campaign decisions and bonus structures.”
The panel concluded that technology alone cannot solve acquisition challenges. Without strong onboarding journeys, relevant offers, and consistent brand messaging, operators risk losing players before long term engagement can develop.
About Alea
Alea is a B2B iGaming platform that gives casino operators access to a wide range of games and suppliers through one integration. The company focuses on operational clarity, scalable performance, and efficient aggregation, helping operators expand in both mature and emerging markets. As the powering partner of SiGMA Africa 2026, Alea supports the summit’s mission to encourage responsible growth and meaningful collaboration across Africa’s gaming ecosystem.
The SiGMA Africa summit concludes, but the SiGMA Global Tour 2026 continues
With SiGMA Africa 2026 drawing to a close, readers can continue following coverage of the summit’s conferences, panels, and key industry discussions here. This year’s SiGMA Africa summit was proudly endorsed by Alea, the event’s powering partner.
Delegates are encouraged to stay connected with fellow participants through SiGMA Match, the summit’s networking platform designed to facilitate meaningful industry collaboration. Attention now turns to the next stop on the SiGMA Global Tour 2026, as BiS SiGMA South America arrives in São Paulo from 06–09 April 2026, bringing together the region’s most influential voices in gaming, technology, and regulation.
