Africa’s gaming industry, sports betting, online casino, and gambling are now worth an estimated $17.63 billion as of 2025, and it is projected to keep growing at a CAGR of 4.23 per cent through 2029, according to Slotegrator’s market analysis.
Female participation is rising fast. GeoPoll’s 2026 Football Survey found that over half of female football fans in Kenya (62 per cent) and South Africa (59 per cent) now take part in sports betting themselves, among the highest female participation rates of any market surveyed. Yet the real story lies not in consumer growth, but in the workforce powering it.
SiGMA News sat down in an exclusive interview with Lois Bright, founder of Women in Gaming Africa, to unpack a figure that keeps surfacing in conversations about who is building this industry: women make up roughly half of Africa’s gaming and betting workforce, by her own estimate. Yet very few of them are the ones running it.
That gap between participation and power is exactly what Bright has spent years trying to close. As founder of Women in Gaming Africa and head of a recruitment business that places talent across the sector, Bright has a front-row view of how women enter the industry and why so many of them stall before reaching the top. She laid out where the real barriers lie, what mentorship can and cannot fix, and why she believes the tide is finally turning for women in African gaming.
Barriers women face
According to Bright’s experience, getting into gaming is not the hard part for African women. Unlike many other industries, it does not always demand a formal qualification to get a foot in the door.
Bright stated, “The real challenge lies not in entry, but in progression. The focus should be on how to elevate women into leadership roles, rather than on access alone. One positive aspect of the gaming industry is that it does not always require formal qualifications, making it more inclusive and accessible.”
Further, she highlighted that the key issue is retaining women within the industry and supporting their advancement into leadership positions. This naturally leads to the importance of mentorship and networking.
Mentorship builds leaders
Women in Gaming Africa has partnered with the Mentorship Academy to run a structured programme, currently supporting more than 40 women who are paired with mentors from within the industry.
The value, she said, often has less to do with technical skill-building and more to do with confidence. Bright described hearing accomplished, senior women say they doubt their own ability to take the next step, a pattern widely recognised as impostor syndrome.
She described, “At times, having someone who can push you to reach your full potential is essential. Having a mentor who is well matched to your specific needs can be highly empowering and instrumental in your growth.”
Building inclusive workplaces
Asked what practical changes operators and regulators could make, Bright was careful to note that Africa is not a single labour market. Employment law varies drastically from country to country, so she narrowed her answer to South Africa, where she is based.
Bright noted, “Policies such as standardised paid maternity leave and a broader understanding that women may require different types of time off are essential. Additionally, in Africa, women are more likely to lead single-parent households than in other regions. Many of these women are not only primary caregivers but also act as the matriarchs of their households, often supporting extended family members as well.”
She emphasised that a higher proportion of African households are headed by single mothers, who are frequently the primary or sole breadwinner rather than part of an extended support structure. Employers who understand this and build policies around it, she argued, tend to get more from their people. Supported employees, she said, perform better.
Women shaping future growth in Africa
Looking ahead, Bright was quick to point out that female leadership in African gaming is not a future ambition; it is already happening. She named several women currently in senior roles across the sector.
She emphasised, “Take Zoe, for example, who is the CFO at the Gambling and Racing Board and is also actively involved in Women in Gaming Africa. You also have leaders like Gail and Bora; there are so many women in these kinds of senior roles. They are paving the way for more women to enter the industry. As a result, employers are beginning to see the advantage of having women in senior leadership positions within their organisations. I believe we are starting to see a real shift, and the tide is changing.”
She argues that visibility compounds. Every woman who reaches a senior position becomes proof, to employers weighing up leadership hires, that there is real value in having women at the top table. That, she believes, is what will keep shifting the industry’s trajectory, not a single policy change, but a growing body of evidence that female leadership works.
This is the market of opportunity. From 15–17 February 2027, SiGMA Africa brings together operators, affiliates, suppliers and regulators in Cape Town. Be where the continent’s next chapter is being written.
