Compliance executive Adenike Oyebamiji outlines Africa regulatory priorities

Adenike Oyebamiji, Legal Compliance Manager for West Africa at Velex Advisory and Chief Operations Officer of the Africa Gaming Expo, said regulators and operators in Africa need continuous engagement to balance innovation with responsible regulation. She made the comments in an interview published on 8 October 2026.

Looking ahead five years, Oyebamiji expects the central regulatory debate in African gaming to centre on governing for what comes next while leaving room for innovation. In her view, regulators ought to move toward principle-based frameworks that can absorb new technologies, fresh business models, new products and shifts in how consumers behave.

Oyebamiji also identified digital payments as a key area for debate. Noting that certain jurisdictions limit digital payment tools including blockchain and cryptocurrency, she argued the real issue is not whether to allow such innovations but how to oversee them responsibly, using KYC, AML and responsible gaming measures that curb risk while still allowing progress.

Because unlicensed operators ignore national borders, Oyebamiji said regulators should not let borders limit their cooperation either. Closer coordination among regulators, she argued, would make enforcement stronger, shrink the black market's influence, boost the exchange of information and give compliant operators a more predictable setting as they expand into several African markets.

Oyebamiji named the African iGaming Alliance, the African Lotteries and Gaming Association, the Africa Gaming Expo and the Gaming Tech Summit Africa as organisations fostering those discussions. She said continued collaboration would leave Africa well positioned to develop frameworks that address current challenges and support long-term growth and global competitiveness.

On compliance, she said her experience on both the regulatory and operator sides changed her approach, and that compliance is no longer only about interpreting legislation or meeting regulatory requirements. She said Velex Advisory encourages operators to engage regulators early and to treat compliance as a business enabler rather than only a legal obligation.

Oyebamiji pointed to the assumption that Africa is one market as among the costliest errors international firms make, since legal frameworks, tax regimes, consumer behaviour and operational realities differ from one jurisdiction to the next. Operators, she added, should anticipate regulatory reforms, altered licensing conditions, fresh tax obligations and shifting advertising rules.

According to Oyebamiji, companies also focus on obtaining a licence while overlooking operational readiness, and underestimate customer acquisition costs in mature markets such as Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. She said technology localisation is often overlooked, with some companies deploying the same platforms used in Europe without accounting for local infrastructure, and that operators should optimise for lower bandwidth, older Android devices and local internet conditions.

She said successful market entry depends on understanding each market on its own terms, working with advisers who know the jurisdiction and building an operating model that reflects local realities. The full interview was published in a digital magazine, according to the interview.