Supporting Africa's First Safer Gambling Week
From 7 to 11 September 2026, Africa held its first Safer Gambling Week, with awareness activities across six countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi.
The aim was to raise awareness of safer gambling and make sure people know where to find support if they need it.
How We Took Part in Africa Safer Gambling Week
We took part through pawaTech, a founding member of the African iGaming Alliance (AiA), which leads Africa Safer Gambling Week. The first Week ran under the banner #PlaySafeAfrica, and the AiA aims to make it an annual event.
pawaTech supported the Week's awareness activities in local marketplaces and other community spaces. On our social channels, we shared a safer gambling message every day, aligned with that day's theme:
What responsible gambling means
Knowing your limits and setting them
Using safer gambling tools
Preventing underage gambling
The risks of unlicensed betting sites
"At pawaTech, we believe responsible gaming must be practical, accessible and relevant to the communities we serve," said Olabimpe Akingba, Head of Responsible Gaming at pawaTech.
How Can You Keep Your Betting Under Control?
Treat betting as entertainment, never as income. Decide what you can afford before you play and stick to that limit.
Betting becomes a problem when it starts to affect your money or your relationships. Look out for these signs, in yourself or in someone close to you. Spotting them early makes it easier to step back:
Betting more money or time than you planned
Betting to win back money you have lost
Borrowing money, or using money meant for bills, to bet
Hiding your betting from family or friends
Feeling stressed, anxious or low because of betting
If any of these sound familiar, take a break and talk to someone you trust.
Where Can You Get Help?
Help is available from us and from independent support services. If you want to stop betting for a while, you can lock your account for a set period so you can't log in or bet. This is called self-exclusion, and you can set it up on our Self-Exclusion page. For more advice, visit our Responsible Gambling page.
You can also get independent support from Heart to Heart Initiative. Contact an experienced counsellor at any time from 9:00am-5:00pm Monday to Friday on either of these numbers; +256 756787807and +256 760009650 or call National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board toll free counselling support line 0800285800.
Why Should You Only Bet With a Licensed Operator?
A licensed operator answers to a regulator. That means rules on age checks, fair play and how complaints are handled. Unlicensed sites may offer none of these protections.
About betPawa
The betPawa brand is owned and powered by pawaTech and licensed to local operators in each market, who manage the brand and customer service locally. In Uganda, betPawa is operated by Choplife Gaming Limited, which is licensed and regulated by the National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board of Uganda under licence numbers NLGRB-CS-26-0182 and NLGRB-BM-26-0181.
You have to be 25 years and above to bet.
Betting is addictive and can be psychologically harmful.
