Designing for Trust in a Market Built on Suspicion

In Africa’s iGaming market, the most valuable currency is trust. This may sound counterintuitive in an industry that thrives on risk and probability, but the paradox is clear: even as the sector experiences explosive growth across the continent, it is shaped by a deep undercurrent of suspicion.

Markets built on risk often breed doubt. That doubt can manifest between businesses and consumers, regulators and innovators, or even among competitors. In such spaces, the ability to establish trust by design is no longer a marketing choice; it becomes a strategic differentiator.

This is especially true for iGaming in Africa. Sports betting, online casinos, and mobile games of chance have entered everyday conversation, fuelled by a young, mobile-first population eager to engage with global sporting culture. Yet beneath this surface of excitement, players approach the market with caution. Many are not only asking, “Can I win?” but more urgently, “If I win, will I actually get paid?”

Trust is not a vague aspiration, but a product feature;  one that must be engineered with intention. This article is my attempt to lay down insights, connect the dots, and explore how iGaming in Africa can move from suspicion to sustainable trust.

The Global Trust Recession

Globally, we are living through what Edelman has described as a “trust recession.” The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer shows declining confidence in business, government, and media across multiple regions. People are not just skeptical; they increasingly expect systems to be unfair, extractive, or self-dealing.

For product builders, this reality comes with two clear implications. First, users no longer take promises at face value; they demand proof. Second, even well-intentioned models around pricing, data use, or payout structures will attract more questions than applause.

Philosopher Onora O’Neill has argued that transparency only builds trust when it is intelligent, that is, when information is usable, relevant, and capable of holding actors accountable. This distinction matters deeply in industries like iGaming, where suspicion is already high.

Put differently, if global markets are skeptical by default, Africa’s iGaming markets face an even sharper challenge, where local realities make suspicion not only common but rational.

Suspicion as Default

When we talk about trust, we must begin from an honest place: suspicion is the default posture of the consumer. Players do not assume fairness; they assume risk until proof convinces them otherwise.

Payout anxiety is perhaps the most visible expression of this suspicion. Across different markets, one often hears the refrain: “Betting is easy. Getting paid is hard.” Winning is not the hurdle; confidence in receiving winnings is. And we must remember, these are not abstract sums. A delayed withdrawal of even ten Ghana cedis could mean the difference between bus fare, groceries, or shared household expenses. Reliability here is a technical feature and the foundation of trust.

Then there is the weight of historical betrayal. Many Africans have experienced or heard stories of financial disappointments, schemes that promised prosperity but delivered loss, lotteries that went unfulfilled, and savings clubs that collapsed. These episodes live on in social memory. When a new platform enters the market, players subconsciously place it in the same mental category as these past failures until proven otherwise.

Finally, cultural narratives around luck and fate also shape perceptions. In some contexts, winning is not seen as random chance but as alignment, favor, or even manipulation. When losses pile up, they are not simply interpreted as bad luck; they are often seen as signs that the system may be rigged. If communication from the platform is poor or impersonal, suspicion only deepens.

These behaviours - payout anxiety, collective memory of betrayal, cultural framing - are not signs of paranoia. They are pragmatic adaptations. In an environment where institutional trust has often been fragile, players treat suspicion as self-protection. Any operator entering this space must first acknowledge this reality: trust must be earned, step by step.

Trust as a Product Feature

So how can platforms design for trust? One useful framework comes from Mayer, Davis, and Schoorman, who defined trust as resting on three attributes: ability, benevolence, and integrity.

Ability translates to reliable systems, instant payouts, fair odds, and uptime guarantees. If a platform cannot demonstrate competence in execution, nothing else matters. Benevolence shows up in the design of experiences that prioritise player welfare, fair limits, non-manipulative interfaces, and accessible responsible gaming tools. This signals that the platform is not seeking extraction at all costs. Integrity requires principled conduct: compliance with regulations, visible audit trails, and the consistent enforcement of standards. Players should be able to see that the platform “walks the talk.”

Onora O’Neill’s distinction adds another layer. Platforms must avoid box-ticking transparency and instead offer intelligent transparency: dashboards, statements, and reporting that players can actually use to hold providers accountable. Trust, in other words, is not a slogan or a promise; it is something that can and must be designed into systems.

Trust as the Future Currency

The sustainability of iGaming in Africa will be determined by how we build trust. Suspicion is the default equilibrium, shaped by history, culture, and economics. But suspicion is not the end of the story.

Across the continent, young, mobile-first players are eager to participate, provided they encounter systems that respect their intelligence and their lived realities. Trust, for people, is not a marketing line. It is the very currency of participation.

If we as an industry are intentional, trust can be engineered into systems, processes, and products. And if we succeed, the reward goes beyond short-term user acquisition. It is the foundation of sustainable ecosystems that empower players, protect regulators’ mandates, and elevate the industry as a whole.

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Author Bio: Kelvin Wilson is the Founder of Oddsense, a startup rethinking how people bet; with intention, data, and trust. His work is shaped by lived experience and a deep interest in why people wager the way they do. He’s focused on building tools that empower bettors and bring clarity and intent to the industry.

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