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Basketball Africa League 2021: By the Numbers

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History will be made when the first BAL season tips off today and culminates with the crowning of the first BAL champion on Sunday, May 30

The inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL) (theBAL.com) season will tip off today at 4:00 p.m. CAT / 10 a.m. ET when Rwanda’s Patriots Basketball Club (BBC) takes on Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers at the Kigali Arena in Rwanda.

Below are facts and figures about the BAL:

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•  1 – History will be made when the first BAL season tips off today and culminates with the crowning of the first BAL champion on Sunday, May 30. The BAL, a partnership between the NBA and FIBA, marks the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside of North America.

•  1 – Ben Uzoh, who joined Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers, is poised to become the first former NBA player to play in the BAL, having played for the New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors from 2010-12. He was also a member of the Nigeria Senior Men’s National Team at the 2016 Olympics, FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and FIBA AfroBasket in 2013 and 2015.

•  3 – As Official Energy Partner of the BAL, New Fortress Energy Inc. (NFE) and the BAL will contribute three trees for every three-pointer made during the BAL season as part of “Threes for Trees,” a collaboration with international NGO Trees for the Future.

•  8 – A roster of eight broadcast partners will air BAL games around the world: Canal+, ESPN, beIN SPORTS, NBA TV, Tencent Video, TSN, American Forces Network (AFN) and Voice of America (VOA). All BAL games will also livestream on the NBA App, the official NBA website NBA.com and the official BAL website theBAL.com.

•  9 – The BAL is working with a roster of nine world-class marketing partners: Agence France Development (AFD), Flutterwave, Hennessy, Jordan Brand, New Fortress Energy (NFE), NIKE, Rwanda Development Board (RDB), Social Nation Africa (SNA) and Wilson.

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•  9 – Nine players bring NBA G League experience to the BAL’s first season: Brandon Jay Costner and Prince Ibeh (Rwanda’s Patriots BBC); Myck Kabongo and Demarcus Holland (Mozambique’s Ferroviàrio de Maputo), Ibrahima Thomas (Mali’s AS Police); Uzoh, Taren Sullivan and Robert Christopher Daniels (Rivers Hoopers); and Ater Majok (Tunisia’s US Monastir).

•  12 – The inaugural BAL season will feature 12 club teams from 12 African countries: Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia.

•  20 – A total of 20 former Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa campers are on BAL team rosters, including one NBA Academy Africa prospect (Mohab Yasser Abdelaty Abdallatif of Egypt’s Zamalek).​

•  21 – There are 21 BAL players with U.S. NCAA Division I experience, with 11 teams featuring at least one former Division I player.

•  22 – The inaugural BAL season will be officiated by 22 of FIBA Africa’s top referees, a group of 19 men and three women from 16 countries selected after live and video observation by the NBA’s Referee Operations Department, in partnership with FIBA and FIBA Africa.

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•  The season will feature a total of 26 games. The 12 teams are divided into three groups of four teams. The top eight teams from the group phase will qualify for the playoffs, which will be single elimination in all three rounds.

•  154 – BAL roster feature 154 players from 24 countries across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the U.S.

•  215 – The inaugural BAL season will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 15 languages.

•  7,621 – The two BAL courts have travelled 7,621 miles from Dollar Bay, Michigan, to Kigali, Rwanda.

•  23,724 – The total number of miles travelled by 11 teams to get to Kigali.

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•  36,975 – Each court consists of 255 panels and weighs approximately 16.7 tonnes (36,975 lbs.).

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Africa

BMM Testlabs Continues Its Expansion in Africa with New Licenses in Botswana and Nigeria to Test Land-Based and Digital Products

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BMM Testlabs (BMM; or the Company), the world’s original gaming test lab renowned for exceptional product compliance and certification services, today announced that it has been approved to provide compliance testing, inspections, and certification services for the African countries of Botswana and Nigeria.

The Botswana Gambling Authority and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission in Nigeria, the official gaming regulatory bodies in those states, granted BMM licenses for the land-based and digital gaming markets in the two African countries.

BMM, which opened its office in South Africa in October 2004, is now able to provide comprehensive compliance testing and inspection services for most regulated markets across Africa.

BMM`s Senior Vice President, Africa, Zeena Rossouw said, We are honored that the gaming authorities in Botswana and Nigeria have demonstrated their trust in BMM to license us for product testing and certification. As regulation gains momentum across the continent, the African gaming market offers even more promise for BMM. With a focus on safeguarding the African gaming industry and all its stakeholders, BMM looks forward to working with suppliers and operators to accelerate the deployment of new technologies and products.

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Africa

KingMakers’ Nigerian operating business, BetKing, selects Genius Sports to power growth with in-play trading services

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New partnership sees KingMakers’ BetKing business benefit from Genius Sports’ leading portfolio of in-play content in Nigeria, including football, tennis and basketball

Genius Sports Limited has today announced a new agreement to supply KingMakers, one of the fastest-growing group of betting operators in Africa, with a range of in-play trading services.

The deal sees BetKing power its live betting product with ultra-fast venue content for the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, English Football League, FIBA basketball and every other major European and South American football league.

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Genius Sports will also provide BetKing with its market-leading trading services which include modelled odds feeds for major football competitions.

With in-play sports betting growing rapidly across Africa, fast and accurate odds are vital to maximising revenues by increasing the availability of betting markets.

Tim Smeets, Trading Director at Kingmakers said “We’re thrilled to announce our new partnership with Genius Sports. Their trusted trading solutions, including low-latency in-play content on crucial football leagues like the Premier League, will enable us to offer market-leading betting experiences for BetKing users in Nigeria.”

Will Westcott, Head of Business Development at Genius Sports said “Every year, we continue to invest in delivering the highest-quality trading services for the African market. With the value of in-play betting growing across Africa, we’re excited to help BetKing execute its online sports betting vision in Nigeria, by providing it with the fastest, most reliable live content on the market for major sports.”

The post KingMakers’ Nigerian operating business, BetKing, selects Genius Sports to power growth with in-play trading services appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Africa

‘Supa’ Celebration as Hacksaw Gaming Takes First Steps into South African Market with Supabets

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After nearly a year in making, both Hacksaw Gaming and Supabets are reaping the rewards of their partnership this week! As of the 30th March 2024, Supabets’ players now have access to a  plethora of Hacksaw games at their fingertips, and their platform currently stands as the only place players can access our games in South Africa.

The South African market has been on our radar for a while now, but like all good things, this partnership took time, refinery and hard work from both parties. A relatively new market to our expanding industry, but with the potential to be one of the most lucrative we’ve seen in a while. Needless to say, we are thrilled to now be a part of it!

Household Hacksaw names such as Chaos Crew, Wanted Dead or a Wild and The Bowery Boys are now available for Supabet users, and we’re ‘supa’ excited for South African players to immerse themselves in the true Hacksaw experience for the first time ever. But we’re not stopping there. As a homage to this new partnership, we’re planning on increasing our portfolio to over 30 of our games by August, and there are even whispers of game exclusives for South Africa in the future.

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Supabets, founded for the people, have been at the forefront of promoting innovative and dynamic experiences for their customers since 2008. Head of Product at Supabet, Bavu Mpama, couldn’t contain his excitement on this recent launch – “What a ride it’s been trying to make this all possible, with the help of the Hacksaw team we are now able to launch one of the best providers in the market at Supabets. It’s been incredible to see the growth of the iGaming industry in South Africa. It’s a huge moment for Supabets, our customers and the iGaming industry in South Africa. We cannot wait!”

“It’s a thrilling expansion into a new region for Hacksaw Gaming, one that I’m confident will see mutual growth of both Hacksaw and Supabets.” Marcus Cordes, CEO of Hacksaw Gaming stated that “as always, our focus remains on delivering the Hacksaw quality we’re known for. Supplying unique and innovative content  that is not only visually stunning, but provides players with inventive mechanics that they know and love us for.”

Looking towards that stunning South African horizon, we’re certain that this is just the beginning of what we can provide to this new region of Hacksaw Gaming enthusiasts.

The post ‘Supa’ Celebration as Hacksaw Gaming Takes First Steps into South African Market with Supabets appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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