Solomon Dre.
Even though Retail ‘over the counter’ betting is still popular, the Online Betting Revolution that kicked off a few years ago is seriously gaining momentum and taking shape across Uganda.
We recently conducted a random survey on over 50 dedicated ‘over the counter’ betters and the results were very encouraging and in favor of Online Betting.
Of the 50 Retail Betters interacted with, 41 acknowledged of either having heard about or knowing Online Betting, while 9 were not sure of what it was. Of the 41 that were aware of Online Betting, 28 had bet online at least once, another 5 were planning to try it out for the first time while the rest were undecided on whether to try out Online Betting for the first time or not.
The positive reception and growing usage of Online Betting over the dominant ‘Over the Counter’ Betting is attributed to the ease, security and convenience to bet online.
But the main boost for Online Betting is the Mobile Money integration function that allows customers to place their Bets using Smart Phones, Tablets, Laptops and Desktop Computers and pay through mobile money.
“I had never used this platform before and my worry was about how I would deposit and receive the money. I don’t own a bank card. But with mobile money functionality, I easily deposit money on my PAWA account and bet,” one Derrick Kasi, a growing user of BETPAWA online platform noted.
Ntulume Henry further noted that, online betting enables customers to easily monitor their bets as everything is saved on their accounts instead of a paper that can get lost or be blown aware by wind any time.
Nonetheless, some Customers were quick to note that Online Betting Companies need to invest more in their marketing so as to grow Customer confidence and ‘believability’.
According to BET PAWA Uganda, online sports betting is an advanced way of predicting on different sports activities using Internet .The beneficiary places a wager /stake on the outcomes.
“One needs to have a mobile money account, a smart phone or laptop. Your telephone number is your account through which you a stake is made and in the event of a win, your winnings are deposited,” Livingstone Mugambe, the marketing manager of BETPAWA Uganda noted in an email.
BETPAWA is among the fastest growing Online Betting Companies in Uganda with about 10,000 customers on a good day.
“Like all activities out there if done in excess they will be detrimental. Betting should never be seen as a way of life to make money but rather as entertainment where you wager disposable income much the same way as going out with friends for drinks or a movie. To help our clients in the event of abuse, we disable their accounts on request whenever they want. We strongly recommend responsible betting, adult age betting, we also advise people not waste time in betting centers. They can comfortably do this on their internet enabled handsets,” Mugambe added.
Considering that Uganda has over 6 million internet users and about 8 million mobile money users currently, there is a huge opportunity for Online Betting to prosper. The story so far is encouraging. Try it out today.
