East African sports betting sales dropping up to 99% due to coronavirus pandemic

East African betting markets have dramatically shrunk in light of the suspension of the world's leading football leagues amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has left little for people to gamble on. But in east Africa, the market has been particularly hard-hit because few in the region bet online.

"In terms of sales, we've lost about 99% because most of our people are not too much into online betting," Ivan Kalanzi, a brand ambassador for GAL Sport Betting website, told BBC Sport Africa. "We don't have too many (online gamblers) in Kenya or Tanzania, where we are more into betting houses."

Many betting shops in the region were closed earlier this month because of the coronavirus outbreak, which is increasing across the region. As a result, an industry whose annual turnover is worth at least $20 million in Kenya, $12 million in Uganda and approaching $10 million in Tanzania has been decimated.

"Maybe only 30% do online betting and most are middle income earners who would usually be interested with the giant [football] leagues, like France and Germany, which were put on hold, so it's a total mess," Kalinzi added.

A vast number of leagues, across a raft of sports, have been suspended in the last month as the coronavirus pandemic has swept across the globe. It is part of a wider malaise across the industry in light of an outbreak which has decimated global sport.

One leading European betting group estimated last week that its revenue would reduce by at least $100 million if restrictions hindering sport were kept in place until the end of August and other key events - such as the 2020 European Championships - were postponed, as has now happened. This figure could rise significantly given that horse racing in the United Kingdom, which provides a major market, has also been cancelled. 

"The challenge facing our business and the industry more widely is unprecedented in modern times," said Peter Jackson, Chief Executive of Flutter Entertainment, which runs the Paddy Power and Betfair operations. "Our focus, first and foremost, is on protecting the welfare of our employees and our customers and we will leave nothing to chance in this regard."

Since the cancellation of sport, several gambling firms have taken to listing and showing eSports, whereby computer users compete against one another in the sport of their choice. The GAL website currently lists markets in football as well as horse and dog racing. While this may draw some in, others are wary of venturing into a market they know little about.

The last few months have not been easy for sports betting firms in Kenya, after the government raised taxes on stakes six months ago. This came amid worries about the effects of gambling in the African nation and followed a decision in May 2019 to introduce new gambling regulations, including a ban on advertising outdoors and on social media.

In September, Kenya's Parliament voted to raise the excise duty on bets, from 10% to 20%, which prompted a leading firm, SportPesa, to stop its operations until a "non-hostile regulatory environment" returned. The firm deactivated its website, saying that the new tax came on top of an existing 20% tax on individual gamblers' winnings and that government tax revenue would decline as a result.

SportPesa was one of the most visible African companies in sport, with sponsorship of both Everton FC and F1 team RacingPoint, but ended both deals on the same day in February. That revenue is set to fall further still as the coronavirus, whose outbreak forced the first postponement of the Olympics in history on Tuesday, continues to halt the vast majority of sport across the planet.