Egypt’s iGaming industry is currently on the rise but is likely to witness a further expansion in the coming years as a result of the increasing penetration of smart devices and the internet. The growing number of tech-savvy locals might also contribute to the proliferation of online gaming in the country.

According to a report about the regulation in Egypt, Egyptians as a nation are passionate about many forms of online gaming, which makes sense considering the country is home to a thriving technology industry. The information and communications technology (ICT) sector is a major contributor to the growth of the local economy, attracting large-scale investments from private companies.

Given all this, it makes sense Egyptians are very keen gamers. Similarly to other countries, Egypt is quickly transitioning to the mobile-first way of gaming. Figures by market research portal Statista indicate that mobile gaming enjoyed the highest popularity among young people in 2017.

Mobile Gaming Is Huge in Egypt

Up to 92% of people aged 16 to 24 years old engage in mobile games. Mobile gaming is most popular among locals aged 25 to 34 years old, with 94% of the people from this age group playing games on their smart devices.

In 2020, the market and consumer data portal conducted the Statista Global Consumer Survey, asking participants to specify how many hours per week they spend playing video games. As many as 32% of the respondents from the country said they game for 1 to 5 hours per week, while 17% said they dedicate 6 to 10 hours each week to gaming. Around 7% of the local gamers spend more than 20 hours playing video games each week.

As for video game usage by device, smartphones lead the way with 72% of the locals using them to enjoy their favorite video games. Phones are followed by desktop computers and laptops (52%), tablets (23%), smart TVs (19%), game consoles (17%), mobile game consoles (7%), and streaming devices like Chromecast (4%).

Esports Are Very Popular in Egypt

The popularity of esports is also on the rise thanks to streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Facebook Gaming is also catching up in terms of popularity despite being relatively new. More than half of gamers, or 53%, have heard about the platform. In 2018, the country hosted the Insomnia online gaming festival at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in the capital Cairo. The festival featured multiple mini tournaments, allowing visitors to compete for a share of the massive E£500,000 prize pool.

Given all that, it is not surprising the country is home to major esports teams like Anubis Gaming. Created in 2015, Anubis Gaming is one of the leading esports teams in the Middle East and North Africa region. Its members have competed in various prestigious esports events, including Red Bull ProSeed, Nexus Arabia, the Intel Arab Cup, and Insomnia Egypt, where the team came in first for a prize of E£30,000.

The owners of traditional sports clubs have also started to turn their gaze to the rapidly growing esports industry, cementing deals with popular teams and franchises. One prime example is the Pyramids Football Club, which organized its very own Pyramids E-Championship back in 2019. Participating gamers competed for the top spot in the leaderboard in a FIFA game that offered a  prize pool of E£1 million.

The Future of Gaming in Egypt Looks Bright

Counter-Strike and Fortnite enjoy enormous popularity among Egyptian professional and amateur esports gamers, along with Dota 2, Overwatch, League of Legends, and StarCraft. The country and its rich history have inspired many representations in popular culture, including in well-known video games like Assassin’s Creed Origins and the Legend of Zelda.

To wrap things up, the local gaming industry is on the rise and shows no signs of slowing down. Video gaming and esports are extremely popular among the younger population of the country which boasts one of the highest gamer population percentages in the world (68%).

Watching video streams is almost as popular as gaming itself as locals are all about streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube Gaming. As for Facebook Gaming, the country boasts a 25% engagement with this platform, which is one of the world’s highest. With a constantly growing community of avid gamers and high levels of internet penetration, the gaming industry in Egypt is likely to flourish even more in the years to follow.