Altenar and IBIA seal partnership to strengthen betting integrity in Africa

Altenar announced on 29 September 2026 its joining of the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) to strengthen integrity standards in sports betting across African markets. The partnership places Altenar within IBIA’s global network and gives it access to monitoring tools, intelligence-sharing and contacts with operators and regulators.

Market context in Africa and why integrity matters

The betting market in Africa is in a phase of accelerated growth. The International Betting Integrity Association's 2025 Sports Betting Integrity Report, with data from H2 Gambling Capital, projected regional Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) to grow from US$3.5bn in 2021 to US$19.4bn in 2030; of that total, online betting is forecast to reach US$16.4bn. Digital channels are already dominant: GeoPoll's 2026 research in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda found that 95% of bettors use mobile devices and that 67% primarily bet on football.

That growth brings supervision challenges and exploitation by unregulated operators and practices like match-fixing. Rapid expansion and uneven regulation across markets make cross-border cooperation and data exchange necessary. Altenar’s partnership with IBIA appears in that context as part of a coordinated response.

What IBIA brings and how its platform works

The International Betting Integrity Association is a not-for-profit body focused on protecting the integrity of sports betting. Its membership gathers more than 90 companies and 200 betting brands. Its Global Monitoring & Alert Platform watches over 1.5 million sporting events across more than 80 disciplines and analyses customer activity on more than US$300bn in annual betting turnover worldwide.

IBIA’s operational value rests on three main functions: real-time event monitoring, intelligence sharing among members, and collaboration with operators, regulators and sporting organisations. Those functions support the detection of atypical patterns and enable early alerts to operators active in regulated markets.

How Altenar strengthens its offering and responsibilities in Africa

Altenar’s betting platform combines a flexible sportsbook solution with local market knowledge, localisation capabilities and experience in varied regulatory and commercial requirements. Membership of IBIA gives Altenar access to a wider network of operators and stakeholders focused on identifying and mitigating integrity risks.

By integrating into IBIA’s network, Altenar is not only seeking compliance: it aims to embed integrity practices into product development and into support for its operator clients. That integration involves sharing risk signals and establishing operational processes to respond to integrity alerts in markets where regulation evolves at different speeds.

Industry comments on the partnership

“Africa is a market with significant potential, but sustainable growth depends on building trust alongside strong technology and commercial propositions,” said Jacob Portelli, sales manager at Altenar. “Integrity is a shared responsibility across the industry, and being part of IBIA gives Altenar the opportunity to contribute to that wider effort.”

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “The African market provides both opportunities and challenges for the regulated sector. While there is great potential for market growth, the dangers from unregulated operators and match-fixers threaten to derail progress.”

Both statements underscore two points: the commercial opportunity in Africa and the risk posed by unregulated operators and match-fixing. Ali added that, on integrity measures, regulation in several African countries still lags leading jurisdictions such as Ontario and Alberta.

Practical implications for operators and regulators

For operators using Altenar’s platform, IBIA membership can translate into earlier detection of atypical patterns, access to shared alerts and improved reporting processes. For technology and platform providers, the trend points to a requirement for integration with intelligence flows and functions that allow response to risk alerts.

Regulators seeking to strengthen national frameworks can rely on aggregate signals from platforms like IBIA’s to guide investigations and design market measures. Public-private collaboration will be key to closing regulatory gaps and reducing the operating space for unregulated operators.

What operators competing in Africa should consider

Operators with ambition in the region should combine three capabilities:

1. product technology adaptable to local markets;

2. compliance processes that incorporate monitoring and intelligence-sharing;

3. partnerships with integrity networks such as IBIA to receive and report alerts.

Altenar states that its IBIA membership reinforces its position as a reliable supplier for operators that require that set of capabilities.

Reading for vendors and product teams

Product and compliance teams at platforms and operators should review their data flows and responsiveness to integrity alerts. Integrating reporting APIs, defining escalation thresholds and setting internal SLAs to investigate and notify are practical steps to operationalise what IBIA provides. The dominant mobile presence — 95% usage — and the concentration on football — 67% — mean most risk activity will occur in digital channels and in that sport, so monitoring rules should reflect that.

By combining sportsbook technology and local knowledge with international standards and intelligence sharing, Altenar aims to support operators in the next phase of development of the African market and to contribute to more reliable and sustainable markets.