NAIROBI, KENYA – June 2025 — At the recently concluded Gaming Tech Summit Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, pawaTech—the parent company of the betting brand betPawa—was honoured with the prestigious Responsible Gaming Company of the Year award. The recognition, presented by Velex Africa, marked not only a significant milestone for the company but a revolution in how responsible gaming is imagined, built, and embedded across African markets.

The recognition comes at a time when the gaming industry in Africa is experiencing exponential growth, raising important questions about player safety, mental wellness, and long-term sustainability. For pawaTech, the answers have always been clear: invest in people, protect the vulnerable, and build systems that do more than just drive revenue, they build trust.

“We’ve always believed that responsible gaming isn’t a feature, it’s a philosophy,” said Olabimpe Akingba, Head of Responsible Gaming at pawaTech. “This award is a powerful validation of the work we’ve quietly done behind the scenes. Responsible Gaming is a mindset embedded in our product design, our policies, and our people. We don’t believe players should have to choose between entertainment and wellbeing. Our mission is to make both possible, sustainably, transparently, and with dignity.”

From self-exclusion tools to intelligent flagging systems and ongoing human-led support, pawaTech’s approach to Responsible Gaming is embedded in its backend and not just on paper, but in the very pathways that govern how people interact with the product.

At its core, pawaTech is building a culture of care. A system that doesn’t just work, but watches out for the people using it. In markets where digital access is growing fast and regulation is still catching up, this matters more than ever. The Responsible Gaming Company of the Year award may be a milestone, but for pawaTech, it’s a quiet nod that the long, often invisible work of protecting users is being seen.