For many iGaming operators, new market launches begin with exporting a model that’s been tried, tested and proven successful elsewhere, but for Honoré Gaming, the process starts from scratch, writes Lauren Harrison.
Established in 2013, Honoré Gaming is a B2B online and retail tech provider, offering sports betting, pari-mutuel horse racing, lottery and casino through a single back-office platform. And it’s purpose-built for low-bandwidth, mobile-first environments across emerging markets, like Africa and Latin America.
To find out more and explore Honoré Gaming’s approach to providing innovative and hyper-localised solutions, we invited Valentin Raigue, Chief Product Officer, into the studio.
In the following interview, iGF’s Head of Content, Curtis Roach, and Valentin discuss the importance of understanding local markets, overcoming infrastructure and payment challenges, and why trust remains the defining asset for iGaming operators in emerging jurisdictions.
Curtis began by asking:
Given the infrastructure and payment challenges in African markets, how has Honoré Gaming built its platform specifically for these jurisdictions?
“Success in Francophone Africa is not built on imposing a generalised technological vision, but rather on humility and a genuine understanding of local realities.
“For instance, ‘Mobile-First’ is not just a slogan: It is the default infrastructure and player habit. Similarly, if your product is not optimised for variable connection speeds, you are immediately capping your own reach.
“When you are managing this continent from Europe, you must grasp local constraints to avoid imposing unsuitable solutions. At Honoré Gaming, we fully integrate several key imperatives into how we work.
“The first is immersion with the on-the-ground reality, which means we co-develop solutions with local operators using a data-light method.
“In Africa, the physical point-of-sale remains the primary anchor of trust. This is why, beyond digital channels, we emphasise an ultra-robust solution for both online and retail environments. In both cases, if the system goes down, player trust evaporates instantly.
“When building the platform, we placed trust at the core. This requires a genuine understanding of community roots. Trust is hard-earned and easily lost, which is why we deeply integrate Mobile Money systems (Orange, MTN, Wave) and agent networks, as they form part of the community’s daily life.
“True integration means speaking the same financial language as the player and meeting their expectations directly.
“In Africa, shifts can be lightning-fast – a new tax, a sudden regulatory change. This means agility and the ability to adapt quickly are imperative. Our structure allows us to respond within one to two weeks. This responsiveness is our trademark, ensuring operators are never caught off guard.”
What should operators do to ensure their architecture allows for rapid localisation while maintaining control and integrity?
“Flexibility drives profitability, but it must be backed by maximum automation.
“Operators should be in a position to focus on the field–local promotion and customer relations–not on technical hurdles or platform constraints.
“Operators need tools that allow them to respond in one or two steps at most. A complex back-office quickly becomes a bottleneck. The operator must be able to manage limits, risks and reports intuitively. The less time spent on the platform, the more they can focus on their customers – and thus grow their revenue.
“The architecture must also allow for the rapid integration of new features (bonuses, new games) without bloating the system or affecting performance.
“Whether it’s compliance or marketing, everything must be automated to reduce human error and guarantee total transparency for the player. The experience should never be hindered – only continuously improved.
“Payments are another critical element for operator growth. At Honoré Gaming, we refer to this as payment readiness. The architecture must enable an operator to become fully operational in record time–within a few days–when it comes to local payment methods.
“Whether integrating a new Mobile Money aggregator or a specific voucher system, payment agility is key to conversion. If a player cannot deposit or withdraw using their everyday tools, acquisition becomes futile and retention disappears.”
What similarities and contrasts do you see between Latin America and Africa? And how do you adapt your model?
“In 2026, Africa and Latin America stand as two strategic mirrors of the global iGaming landscape, driven by a mobile-first culture, a shared passion for football, and the rapid growth of the casino vertical – particularly through crash games.
“While transaction methods differ–the dominance of Mobile Money in Africa versus the rise of systems such as Pix or voucher-based payments in Latin America–both regions share a rapid transition from retail to digital and a strong demand for lightweight solutions adapted to unstable connectivity.
“For operators, the key to success on both continents lies in hyper-localisation. It is no longer about deploying a global platform, but about integrating into local communities through automated, agile tools capable of adapting in under two weeks to regulatory changes and local gaming habits.
“Honoré Gaming’s expansion follows the same rigour that supported our African successes: An approach based on field-proof analysis.
“A strong starting point is strategic benchmarking, where we use advanced competitive analysis tools, systematically cross-referenced with feedback from the field and local operators. This dual perspective helps us to identify the most effective technological and commercial solutions.
“Every market has its own DNA. We localise precisely according to communities and their expectations. In Latin America, benchmarks show a strong appetite for casino and crash games, whereas Africa remains largely dominated by sports betting.
“Ultimately, sustainable growth cannot rely on a rigid model. We build each offering around real-world results and player behaviour. This approach allows us to remain aligned with local usage patterns–whether in Dakar or San Salvador–while ensuring every technology layer remains simple and efficient for local partners to operate.”
What capabilities should operators prioritise to stay competitive?
“In our theatres of operation, the future belongs to those who can marry technological innovation with the fundamentals of trust. The ability to innovate is no longer a luxury. It’s a condition for survival.
“AI enables personalised user journeys and automated detection of at-risk behaviours, strengthening security.
“When gamification is layered onto this personalised approach, it can turn betting into an interactive experience. But only when it remains simple, centred on a challenge, a reward and zero friction.
“Technology is one thing, but trust remains the number one asset.
“The golden rule is to pay your players quickly and transparently. Platform stability and payment reliability are the foundations of loyalty, retention and sustainable growth.
“Trust also helps forge a powerful long-term connection with customers. A human touch helps operators stand out in a competitive field. Offering market-adapted promotions and maintaining a close link with the community is essential.
“Technology should serve to humanise the exchange and simplify the operator’s life, allowing them to focus on what matters most: their customers.”
Editor’s Note:
Valentin’s insightful perspective makes clear Honoré Gaming’s depth of expertise.
It is a reminder that success in emerging markets across Africa and Latin America is built on agile tech, local relevance and a deep, practical understanding of markets, their constraints and consumers.
Beyond the cutting-edge tech and platform architecture, one theme stands out above all: Trust, built through immersion, stability and payment reliability.
Valentin asserts that in markets where a single failure can cause immediate churn, “the future belongs to those who can marry technological innovation with the fundamentals of trust”.
And that’s why selecting a tech partner like Honoré Gaming–one that understands on-the-ground realities, co-creates with local providers, and views agility and responsiveness as a trademark–is critical for operators seeking sustainable growth in unfamiliar markets.
