Voodoo People

How to play Voodoo People

GiG’s immediate priority following the completion of the deal will be disciplined integration, says Richards. This includes bringing 888Africa’s financial reporting, compliance and operational processes in line with GiG’s standards.

Ahlberg suggests GiG will look to transition 888Africa onto GiG’s platform, providing synergies down the line. Richards says GiG will look at where the company’s platform and tech can add value to the existing 888Africa business, although in terms of expansion, he again reaffirms that it will be a cautious approach in the short term.

“We are deliberately not pursuing an aggressive expansion agenda in the early months,” he explains. “We want to prioritise integration and consolidating our existing positions first, and only look at new market entry once we are confident the operational foundations are in place.”

About Voodoo People

In January 2024, before locally licensed online operators were active, the Authority said it had recorded about 510,000 monthly cases of Botswanans participating in illegal online gambling.

Sunbet Botswana launched its online sports-betting platform in February 2025 and reported a 4,700% increase in sign-ups during its first month. As this was an operator-reported figure, the company did not publicly disclose the comparison baseline or absolute number of registrations.

The Authority said licensed operators accepted P150 million in wagers in March 2025, paid P135 million in winnings and generated P15 million in gross gambling revenue. It also estimated that only about 40% of Botswana’s estimated 550,000 active bettors were using licensed local operators, leaving a substantial share of demand with unregulated platforms.

What is Voodoo People?

An ACMA spokesperson reiterated: “BetStop is an important consumer protection measure, but it only works if wagering companies follow the rules.” 

As of January 2027, BetStop will be further promoted as part of a reform package to gambling laws in Australia. Following a statutory review, the government committed to improving system usability and boosting promotional efforts. It is also committed to funding ACMA marketing to support BetStop and recovering operational costs from industry participants. 

Additionally, the register will receive AU$28.7 million over four years, with AU$3.2 million ongoing annually beyond that to improve data-matching systems.