Online gambling in South Africa is no longer a side story. It has become the main engine of the market, driven by smartphones, cheaper data and betting that never really closes.
New figures from the National Gambling Board show just how fast the shift has happened. In the 2023/24 financial year, South Africa’s gross gambling revenue reached R59.3bn, up 25.7% year on year. Sports betting delivered R35.91bn, and online betting accounted for R28.97bn, close to half of all gambling revenue.
The growth continued into the next year
Parliamentary reporting on the NGB’s latest figures put total gambling turnover at about R1.5tn in 2024/25 in the next year, up from roughly R1.1tn the year before. Gross gambling revenue rose to about R75bn, with the NGB indicating that online betting now accounts for around 60% of total GGR, while betting as a whole accounts for roughly 70%.
For regulators and support services, the concern is not only the size of the market but also how it reaches people. With betting apps always a tap away, gambling can follow someone through the day. That matters in a country where many households already live under heavy financial pressure.
An increasing number of gambling addicts
The South African Responsible Gambling Foundation has also flagged the vulnerability of many people who seek help. In one recent snapshot it cited publicly, 35% of callers looking for support were unemployed and reliant on SASSA grants. This detail adds weight to warnings about gambling harm feeding into debt and family stress.
The government has begun looking at ways to address this situation, including advertising limits, stronger age checks, and stricter licensing requirements. But the biggest immediate policy fight may be about money.
The National Treasury has proposed a new 20% national tax on the gross gambling revenue of online and interactive gambling. That is significant because online betting already attracts provincial gambling taxes, which Treasury has pointed out commonly sit in the 6% to 9% range. If both apply, Treasury has warned that the effective burden could climb to 26% to 29%.
Increase tax to create better rules?
Supporters of tighter rules argue the market needs stronger consumer protection as online betting grows. Critics say a higher tax will not fix addiction or aggressive promotion, and could end up rewarding the state while leaving vulnerable players exposed.
What no one disputes is the direction of travel. South Africa’s gambling boom is happening on phones, and the country is still deciding how to police it, and who should pay for the harm that comes with easy access.
Source: Al Jazeera