After the President of Nigeria vetoed the central gambling bill, various states have started a new phase in the gambling industry through cooperative regulation, hoping to challenge South Africa as the top gambling market in Africa. Meanwhile, Waterhouse VC, focusing on gambling technology investments, performed well, achieving a total return of 12.6% in 2025 despite a 7.7% currency headwind. On one hand, emerging markets reduce operational thresholds and attract global capital through interstate cooperation; on the other hand, professional funds deeply cultivate the "infrastructure" of the gambling ecosystem. Together, they outline a diverse development landscape for the global gambling industry. Examples of regulatory cooperation and investment compliance standards in the gambling sector can be found on the PASA official website.
Nigerian Regulatory Breakthrough: Interstate Reciprocity + Relaxed Environment Attracts Investment
After the central gambling bill was vetoed, Nigerian states took up the regulatory mantle, activating market potential through a collaborative model:
Core cooperation mechanism: Drawing on the experience of federal countries like Germany and Canada, a reciprocal licensing arrangement was introduced — licenses obtained in Lagos State are valid in other cooperating states, with license fees shared among the states, achieving "one license, multiple states";
Regulatory advantages highlighted: The Lagos State Gambling Authority (LSLGA) promises to complete license approvals within 30 days, transparently and efficiently, also facilitating operators' access to banking resources, avoiding interference from other institutions, and offering lenient tax policies;
Market growth drivers: 41% of the population is 14 years old and below, with the young demographic as the main force, rapid mobile penetration, "betting via mobile phones" leads to exponential market growth; international investors hold 60% of licensed operators, with individual company investments reaching $10 million - $20 million.
LSLGA CEO Bashir Are stated that the central law has become "history," and the federal model of state cooperation is more suited to national conditions, "We want to create a green-light operation environment for operators."
Waterhouse VC 2025 Highlights: 12.6% Return Betting on Two Main Themes
Established six years ago, Waterhouse VC focuses on investments in the gambling ecosystem "infrastructure," delivering a robust performance in 2025:
Core Performance and Transaction Dynamics
Counter-cyclical earnings: The total return rate before expenses reached 12.6%, affected by the appreciation of the Australian dollar against the US dollar, resulting in a slight shrinkage of US assets;
Strict transaction screening: Over the year, more than 450 companies were evaluated, 66 entered due diligence, and 6 new option transactions were finalized, with 11 ongoing transactions maturing in early 2026;
Clear earnings structure: Returns mainly came from the stock portfolio, with moderate contributions from company dividends, no option transactions exercised.
Investment Themes and Portfolio Highlights
Two core tracks: Predicting the market's upgrade from niche gambling products to financial instruments, hedge funds begin hiring full-time traders; AI becomes an "essential item" for operators, focusing on personalized and social gamification technologies;
Portfolio company breakthrough: Voxbet launched the "Pass The Bet" social betting feature, supporting user collaboration to share multiple bets, "plug and play" without the need for operator infrastructure modification; a certain live dealer casino business rapidly expanded across platforms, with an investment return rate reaching 19 times the initial investment.
Global Industry Consensus: Collaboration and Innovation Solve Common Challenges
The regulatory collaboration of emerging markets and the investment layout of mature markets both point to the core proposition of industry development:
Nigeria's opportunities and goals: Through interstate "huddling for warmth," reduce compliance costs for operators, attract more international capital, narrow the market gap with South Africa, and consolidate the position of Africa's top gambling market;
Future layout of Waterhouse VC: Approaching the soft close target, shifting from exploring external opportunities to integrating the internal ecosystem, focusing on advancing the high-leverage opportunities of the listed portfolio company Racing and Sports (RAS);
Jointly addressing the grey market: Approximately AUD 3.9 billion flows to unlicensed overseas platforms in Australia each year, potentially increasing to AUD 5 billion by 2029. Both Nigeria and investment institutions need to recover lost market liquidity through compliant environments and integrity technology.
Whether it's the regulatory innovation of emerging markets or the precise layout of professional funds, both confirm the development logic of the gambling industry "compliance as the base, innovation as the wings".
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel: https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data report: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
