On 05 March, as part of the SiGMA Africa conference in Cape Town, a panel titled “Betting Integrity in Sports: From Traditional Markets to Esport” took place. Speakers discussed esports-related risks and monitoring systems, and considered which control tools can be effective right now. More in our report.
SiGMA Africa 2026 is endorsed by Alea
Who took part in the discussion
- Shirley Pulis Xerxen (moderator) is Head of News at SiGMA Group. For many years, her main professional focus was education – training and consulting in personal and organisational creativity, systems thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship, across both the public and private sectors.
- Yahaya Maikori is President of the Esports Federation of Nigeria. An entertainment lawyer and executive, his work spans gaming, sport and media. He advises iGaming businesses across Africa, regularly delivers analytical presentations at industry conferences, and works with regulators in multiple jurisdictions.
- Peter Mshikilwa is President of the Esports Federation of Tanzania. A seasoned lawyer with more than 15 years’ practice in tax law, investment advisory and sports law. As President of the Esports Federation of Tanzania, Mshikilwa advocates for the development of digital sport and for a stable legal environment to support its growth.
- Jason Foley-Train is Head of International Development at the Betting Integrity Association (IBIA). A specialist in international sports betting and integrity policy with more than 20 years of experience across government, industry associations and consulting. He currently leads IBIA’s international development, overseeing policy, communications and major research projects.
Esports in numbers
Moderator Shirley Pulis Xerxen opened the discussion with hard data — the latest IBIA (International Betting Integrity Association) statistics for 2025.
“IBIA has published its 2025 report, noting 300 suspicious betting alerts — a 29% increase over 2024. Of those 300 alerts, 11% (or 34 cases) were related to e-sports”
The panel noted that the rise reflects not a spike in wrongdoing, but expanded monitoring and improved analytics. They also stressed an important caveat: the discussion should not focus on alert counts alone. Without considering event volumes, market maturity and match density, the figures can be easily misread.
Is esports higher risk?
Asked directly, Jason Foley-Train cautioned against quick conclusions. He said the question is fair, but noted that IBIA data does not show heightened risk.
“The crux of the question is whether e-sports carries a higher integrity risk than traditional sports. Based on our data, the answer is no, but you do need to break those numbers down further”
In esports, he added, scale matters — the number of tournaments, matches and regional leagues. Without that context, the statistics can look more dramatic than they are.
Why esports is harder to control
From statistics, the discussion moved to the drivers of concern. Yahaya Maikori explained that esports is a different governance species.
“E-sports is decentralized; nobody truly ‘owns’ the space. There are countries with two competing e-sports federations, and numerous global bodies. Consequently, players may follow different rules depending on which organization they are aligned with”
In that architecture, unified standards are harder to implement than in traditional sport, where governance is typically clearer and more centralised.
Peter Mshikilwa added that without a dedicated legal framework — and with a large number of informal tournaments — monitoring becomes fragmented, creating space for manipulation “in the shadows”.
How to bring oversight to the ecosystem
The panel then turned to control tools. Participants agreed that technology and analytics matter, but the biggest blind spot is unregulated markets where data is unavailable and oversight is limited.
Jason Foley-Train pointed to the most effective resource: operators’ transactional customer data. It enables stakeholders not only to flag suspicious movements, but also to take cases through to sanctions. That, in turn, requires stronger communication between operators, sports bodies, regulators and law enforcement — the backbone of integrity.
The panel’s closing takeaways
In the final segment, the moderator asked each speaker to name the key idea they brought to the stage. Peter Mshikilwa said esports is now a mass phenomenon that has become part of sport’s real economy. Yahaya Maikori focused on Nigeria — a market with huge opportunities, but also an environment where regulation and oversight are still catching up with rapid growth.
Jason Foley-Train argued that betting integrity should not be treated as another “tick-box”: it requires investment and ongoing commitment. Shirley Pulis Xerxen closed the panel with a clear conclusion: betting integrity is the foundation of the entire market. Whether you are a regulator, an operator or a federation president — working in traditional sport or esports — the time to act is now.
About Alea
Alea is a B2B iGaming platform that gives casino operators access to a wide selection of games and providers through a single integration. The company focuses on transparency, performance and scalability, helping operators grow in both mature and emerging markets. Africa is currently one of the key regions in Alea’s global strategy. As the general partner of SiGMA Africa 2026, Alea supports the summit’s mission of sustainable growth and industry collaboration across the continent.
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