Oversight of Africa’s gaming sector is moving from the margins to mainstream as Policy Vault Africa earns international recognition for mapping the continent’s fragmented betting and esports rules.
- +Policy Vault Africa’s recognition highlights gaming regulatory shift
The awards signals growing scrutiny from governments and investors who once treated gaming as a niche market but now see it as a tax and compliance frontier.
The awards signals growing scrutiny from governments and investors who once treated gaming as a niche market but now see it as a tax and compliance frontier.
The recognition by the Gaming Tech Summit Africa (GTSA) Awards further cements Policy Vault Africa’s position as one of the continent’s leading policy, regulatory affairs, government relations, and compliance advisory firms.
The prestigious award reflects years of deep engagement across multiple African jurisdictions, where the organisation has advised governments, regulators, operators, and investors on regulatory modernisation, compliance frameworks, and market-entry strategies.
While gaming remains one of its fastest-growing practice areas, the firm’s expertise spans multiple regulated sectors where governance and commercial interests intersect facilitating constructive dialogue on complex issues like digital monitoring systems, taxation, and anti-money laundering compliance.
“This award is genuinely meaningful to us, but not as a destination. It is more like a reminder of why we do this work,” said Ikechukwu Ofuani, partner at Policy Vault Africa.
“The gaming industry in Africa has enormous economic potential to generate significant public revenue. But none of that is guaranteed,” Ofuani noted.
He added that it must be built carefully on a foundation of sound regulation, strong institutions, and a genuine culture of compliance.
“That is what we are committed to, and this recognition simply strengthens that commitment.”
The GTSA recognition reinforces Policy Vault Africa’s reputation as a trusted partner for organisations seeking to operate responsibly within Africa’s evolving regulatory landscape.
It validates the firm’s core belief that effective regulation should not be viewed as an obstacle to growth, but as a catalyst for sustainable industry development.
“When we started this work, the conversation around gaming regulation on the continent was still quite underdeveloped in many markets.
“There were gaps not because people didn’t care, but because the frameworks simply hadn’t caught up with the pace of the industry,” Ofuani noted.
“We decided early on that our job was to help close those gaps, and to do it in a way that served all stakeholders including regulators, operators, governments, and ultimately, consumers.”
According to him, Africa is not a single regulatory story. “We see jurisdictions modernizing rapidly alongside those taking a more cautious approach. Because of this, a one-size-fits-all strategy is ineffective.”
“We must deeply understand the political economy, history, and unique sensitivities of each market to build regulatory strategies that genuinely work in context.”
Beyond the award recognition, Policy Vault Africa’s thought leadership was also on display at the Summit as the firm took part in advancing critical industry conversations.
During the event, Ofuani moderated one of the most anticipated policy panels titled, ‘Invisible Oversight: Designing Regulatory Systems That Monitor Without Disrupting Market Growth.’
The session brought together senior regulators, policymakers, technology providers, and industry leaders to examine how African governments can deploy modern regulatory technologies that strengthen oversight while preserving commercial viability.
The distinguished panel featured Peter Emolemo Kesitilwe, chief executive officer of the African iGaming Alliance (AIA); Prakash Sabunani, senior vice president and partner at N-Soft and Issanda Issanda Alain Salomon, director of political affairs at the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MINAT), Cameroon.
Others are Ajibola Abdulkadir, chief operating officer of Evidentia AI and Didier Bobwa Wese of the Ministry of Finance, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Through its ongoing advocacy and advisory work, Policy Vault Africa remains committed to supporting the next generation of policy reforms that will define how Africa’s gaming industry grows, innovates, and earns public trust.
