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Telcos enter the gaming arena: Fees for games vary severalfold across Arab markets

Arab Advisors Group has released a series of reports analyzing telecom operators’ gaming strategies across the Maghreb region, the GCC & Yemen, Egypt & Sudan, and the Levant region. These reports examined telcos embedding of games into their service portfolios, through game cards, bundled offers, standalone games, and partnerships. The reports also benchmark pricing, accessibility, and devices compatibility for the game offerings. The reports are tailored for telecom executives, gaming industry strategists, digital content providers, regulators, and investors seeking to understand how Arab operators are driving, and monetizing, the region’s rapidly growing gaming ecosystem.

Telecom operators can use the operator-by-operator benchmarks available in the reports to design game bundles and partnerships that fit local demand, for instance, the GCC growth is fueled by cross-platform availability and competitive pricing, while gaps persist in the Levant. Additionally, telcos can leverage the series to select the right channel mix (standalone, bundles, or game cards), and set price ladders grounded in market realities. Game publishers and platform partners gain distribution maps (cards, bundles, standalone offers, accessibility) by operator across 19 Arab countries to decide which telcos to integrate with first and to sequence launches where online games already outperform mobile (nearly 2:1 in Egypt and Sudan) while aligning device and platform support before go-live. Commercial and pricing teams can rely on fee benchmarks in the reports to spot several-fold price differences across markets, calibrate tariffs and promotional tiers, and model revenue outcomes (ARPU and adoption sensitivities for instance) grounded in comparable fee data rather than assumptions. Strategy and corporate development leaders can identify whitespace, such as the absence of 5G games, to shape build-buy-partner decisions, assemble a prioritized list of telco counterparts, and time entries where monetization conditions are most favorable. Telecom regulators and telecom/games ecosystem enablers can benchmark games accessibility by operator and country (e.g. card availability gaps in the Levant), set policy KPIs such as the share of operators offering online activation, review fee burdens that hinder uptake, and issue cross-platform parity guidelines to widen games inclusion. In short, the series converts scattered telco/game market data into operator-specific, region-aware actions, providing each stakeholder with clear, data-based next steps.

Request a Call with the Business Development TeamUnlike generalized game reports, Arab Advisors Group’s research stands out for its operator-level granularity and regional depth. Built on direct engagement with primary sources across 19 Arab markets, the series dissects games and cards are offered by each MENA telco, how they are structured, priced, bundled, and delivered across platforms. By capturing gaps in adoption (such as the Levant’s uneven card availability or the GCC’s absence of 5G gaming) our studies highlight both best practices and missed opportunities. For organizations aiming to capitalize on the Arab world’s gaming sector, Arab Advisors Group offers the precision, regional context, and actionable intelligence that global competitors often overlook.

Our five reports: “Telecom Operators’ Expansions in the Gaming Realm – The Levant Region”, “Telecom Operators and the Game Card Landscape in the Levant-2025 – The Levant Region”, “Telecom Operators’ Expansions in the Gaming Realm – The GCC and Yemen”, “Telecom Operators’ Expansions in the Gaming Realm – Egypt and Sudan “, and “Telecom Operators’ Expansions in the Gaming Realm – Maghreb”, which were released in Q2 2025 to Arab Advisors Group’s communication research subscribers, answer the below questions:

• Which telecom operators in each Arab sub-region currently offer games (and game cards in the Levant) to their subscribers?

• What categories of games (and game cards in the Levant) are telcos providing (e.g. 5G games, cloud games, mobile games, online games, and VR games) in each Arab sub-region?

• Are telecom operators bundling games (and game cards in the Levant) with traditional telecom offerings? Or are they providing them as standalone products?

• How do games (and game cards in the Levant) vary among telecom operators in each Arab sub-region in terms of pricing models and service duration?

• To what extent are these games (and game cards in the Levant) compatible across different devices and platforms, in each Arab sub-region?

• What role do telecom operators play in the esports ecosystem across each Arab sub-region?

To access the full insights and detailed benchmarks, contact Arab Advisors Group today or request the full Table of Contents

The reports were released to Arab Advisors Group’s Telecom Research Service subscribers and and is also available for individual purchase:

  • US$ 5,500 for the “Telecom Operators’ Expansions in the Gaming Realm – The GCC and Yemen” report
  • US$ 5,000 for each of the reports “Telecom Operators’ Expansions in the Gaming Realm – The Levant Region”, “Telecom Operators’ Expansions in the Gaming Realm – Maghreb”, “Telecom Operators’ Expansions in the Gaming Realm – Egypt and Sudan” reports
  • US$ 4,500 for the“Telecom Operators and the Game Card Landscape in the Levant-2025 – The Levant Region” report in the Levant report

Arab Advisors Group’s team of analysts in the region produced over 6,100 reports on the Arab World’s communications, media, and financial markets. The reports can be purchased individually or received through an annual subscription to Arab Advisors Group’s (www.arabadvisors.com) Strategic Research Services (Media and Telecom).

To date, Arab Advisors Group serves over 1,000 global and regional companies by providing reliable research analysis and forecasts of Arab communications markets to these clients. Some of our clients can be viewed on https://arabadvisors.com/client-list



Source: Arab Advisors Press Release

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