Mikia Kalati
G-BETS, a subsidiary of the Goldrush Gaming Group, on Tuesday launched a multi-million maloti online sports betting product as part of the company’s efforts to bring convenience to customers while affording them a variety of gaming options.
The Goldrush Group is a diversified gaming company with interests in sports betting, limited pay-out machines (LPM), Route Operations, Bingo and Casinos. The group has more than 20 years of operations in the South African and African gambling market.
According to G-bets, the launch of the online betting marks a significant development for the Lesotho gaming market that until now was not able to participate meaningfully in online betting.
G-bets Online Gaming Managing Director, Dhrupal Amin, said the launch testified to Goldrush’s overall passion and commitment to the citizens of Lesotho and their desire for a variety of gaming products.
“With Goldrush successfully running six G-Bets stores in Lesotho since 2014, establishing a new Casino in Maseru during 2017 was a natural extension to satisfy local demand,” Mr Amin said.
“What surprised us was the demand for online gaming from the existing retail G-bets customers, who wanted convenience anywhere and anytime betting at their fingertips.
“The launch of G-Bets’ fully fledged online sports betting solution in Lesotho represents a first within the country which is expected to address customers’ needs for convenience and transparency. That means betting anywhere, anytime, with no queues and hassles and is now a reality within the market.”
The new G-Bets online platform allows a participant to place a bet from their homes and receive their pay-outs using mobile money platforms like Mpesa and Eco-Cash.
“After listening to the needs of our retail store customers it became apparent that a large number of them did not want to travel long distances to participate in the excitement of laying bets. They also wanted the convenience of Mpesa and Eco-cash to receive their winnings.
“Instead of using cash, the G-Bets online platform delivers a comprehensive solution that addresses the needs and in addition includes live in-play that is completely new to the Lesotho market. Live in-play betting allows customers to bet on a match while the game is being played, whereas traditionally betting closes once a match starts.
“This is expected to create a new level of excitement and entertainment that will put sports betting in Lesotho on par with the best Europe has to offer,” Mr Amin said.
For the Southern Africa region, G-bets online also announced that they will be introducing a weekly progressive 20-leg multiple soccer jackpot exclusively for the Lesotho customers which will start at M250 000 from 13 December this year. Betting on the progressive jackpot will open each week on a Tuesday from 1pm, with winners being announced every Monday. The jackpot is progressive which means that if there is no winner during a particular week, the jackpot amount will increase and be rolled to the following week.
