• Home
• African Gambling Regulators Draft Cooperation Framework at SiGMA Rome

African Gambling Regulators Draft Cooperation Framework at SiGMA Rome

African Gambling Regulators Draft Cooperation Framework in Rome – Regional Workshop Focuses on Enforcement Without Harmonizing Legislation

Key Takeaways

• African regulators will begin drafting the Rome Working Draft (Version 0.1) for regional cooperation on Nov. 5, 2026.
• The framework targets cross-border gambling and information exchange while strictly preserving national legislative autonomy.
• Delegates from South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Uganda, and Rwanda will divide into five working groups.
• SiGMA World Rome hosts the workshop alongside other regulatory sessions, expecting 30,000 delegates overall.

Regional Cooperation Preserves National Legislative Autonomy

African gambling regulators will convene at Fiera Roma on Nov. 5 to establish a regional cooperation framework. The workshop is hosted by the Gaming Regulators Africa Forum (GRAF) and SiGMA. Delegates aim to address illegal gambling, money laundering, and enforcement coordination across borders.

This initiative directly follows discussions from the GRAF Regulatory Forum held in Cape Town during March 2026. Participants in Cape Town recognized that full coordination of licensing remains difficult to achieve in the short term. Regulators now prioritize practical mechanisms for information sharing over the alignment of national gambling legislation.

The primary objective of the Rome workshop is to prepare the Rome Working Draft (Version 0.1). This document will outline how individual regulators can tackle shared challenges without compromising their legislative independence. The overarching theme is advancing harmonization through collaboration.

Two Dedicated Panels Address Global Models and Enforcement Challenges

The event begins with opening remarks from GRAF President Mabutho Zwane and SiGMA representatives. Discussions will then move into two structured panels designed to evaluate different regulatory approaches. These sessions examine how international strategies apply to the distinct regulatory environments found across Africa.

Bonga Mngoma, Executive for Transformation and Economic Development at South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal Economic Regulatory Authority, serves as the program director. Mngoma will also moderate the first panel, which explores international cooperation frameworks and joint investigation models. The goal is to identify global systems that could work within African jurisdictions.

The second panel tackles cross-border gambling and illegal markets. Zoé Siwa, chief financial officer of the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, will moderate this discussion. Panelists will analyze enforcement challenges, gaps in information sharing, and responsible gambling initiatives alongside industry perspectives.

Facilitated Working Groups Target Five Core Regulatory Sectors

Mngoma and Siwa will jointly facilitate five specific working groups after the initial panel discussions. These groups allow delegates to develop concrete recommendations for cross-border cooperation. The focused approach ensures that specific operational needs receive adequate attention from the participants.

The five groups will cover information-sharing protocols, legal arrangements, operational enforcement, capacity building, and stakeholder communication. Each group will present its specific findings during a subsequent plenary session. This format helps identify common themes and areas of broad agreement among the participating agencies.

GRAF will eventually consolidate all recommendations to inform the final cooperation framework. The agenda also includes a keynote address by Jaime Debono of the iGaming Academy. The workshop concludes with a summary of the next steps and a formal commitment pledge from the delegates.

National Agencies from Five African Jurisdictions Join the Initiative

Senior representatives from several national and provincial government agencies will attend the workshop. Expected participants include regulators from South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Uganda, and Rwanda. They will work alongside industry figures from the African iGaming Alliance and the iGaming Academy.

SiGMA and GRAF initially announced this partnership in February. SiGMA chief international relations officer Heathcliff Farrugia outlined the expectations for the initiative at that time. Farrugia stated that the objective is progress rather than simply ongoing conversation.

The Rome workshop represents the first physical step toward formalizing these conversations into a written framework. Regulators are tasked with jointly developing recommendations that function across national borders. The effort acknowledges that individual jurisdictions struggle to manage illegal cross-border gambling independently.

Broader Regulatory Agenda Dominates SiGMA Rome Schedule

The GRAF workshop is part of a larger regulatory program at SiGMA World Rome, which runs from Nov. 2 to Nov. 5, 2026. The wider conference expects to host 30,000 delegates and feature more than 550 expert speakers. Over 1,200 sponsors and exhibitors will also participate in the event.

A separate workshop on Nov. 3 will evaluate digital finance, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrency. This session focuses on regulatory approaches within the European Union compared to the Global Majority. It provides additional context for regulators managing emerging financial technologies in the gambling sector.

Gaming Associates will present an operational session on Nov. 4. This presentation explores how official lotteries channel gaming revenue into public services, healthcare, and education. The varied schedule highlights a strong focus on structured gambling oversight during the Rome conference.

Our Assessment

The upcoming workshop in Rome marks a pragmatic shift in African gambling regulation. Regulators are moving away from the complex goal of unifying national laws toward building functional, cross-border enforcement tools. The decision to create a concrete working draft demonstrates a commitment to actionable outcomes rather than theoretical discussions. Structuring the event around specific working groups ensures that the resulting framework will address actual operational gaps, particularly regarding illegal gambling and information sharing. This collaborative approach allows participating nations to strengthen their oversight capabilities without sacrificing jurisdictional autonomy.