Stats SA details that gross gambling revenue hit R59.3 billion in 2023/24, a 25.7% jump on the prior year and more than doubling since 2021/22. Online betting, rather than traditional casinos, is what’s driving this growth. Casinos, once 84% of the market (2009/10), now trail far behind as online and bookmaker channels experience an explosive rise. (Bookmakers are licensed entities or individuals who accept bets on sports, horseracing, and other events directly from the public.)

For instance, bookmaker and online gambling services generated R152.6 billion in 2023, surging from only R10.1 billion in 2018, a 1411% increase in 5 years! Stats SA ranks bookmaker and online gambling as the fastest-growing income activities across the South African services sector since 2018, while casino/gambling houses are among the industries in decline.

This explosive growth reflects a troubling reality where 41% of low-income earners (those earning R8,000-R15,000 monthly) resort to gambling to meet basic living expenses. Nearly half of all working gamblers now play frequently, hoping to cover expenses or debt, a figure that has climbed sharply from 36% previously. The demographic most engaged includes men and those between ages 30-49, with 62% gambling at least once weekly and nearly 40% gambling even more frequently.

Other major publishers in addition to Stats SA have analysed the matter in more detail and we’ll leave links to all our sources at the very end. What we are looking to do here is to discuss what may be causing it and the potential long term effects.

What could be causing this rise in gambling?

Economic Exclusion, Desperation & Structural Unemployment

South Africa's very high unemployment rate of 33.2% in Q2 2025, with youth unemployment reaching 62.2%, creates fertile ground for gambling as a perceived escape route. With 12.3 million South Africans living below the poverty line, gambling has become a desperate gamble against systemic economic exclusion.

The structural barriers to employment and overall economic mobility further restrict access to legitimate income opportunities.

For example, structural barriers include urban sprawl and high transport costs, both driven by legacy apartheid spatial planning (Group Areas Act), where majority of the population were excluded from well-located land, creating distant, segregated townships. This resulted in people that needed formal economic opportunities living the furthest away from them, which meant the long commutes, weak public transport links, need for cars and high rents encourage people to stay in townships. Given the failure of today’s government to deliver basic infrastructure and utilities to these townships meant the opportunities remain in the cities and not much to work with in the townships.

In this context, gambling offers the illusion of quick financial relief, particularly appealing when formal economic participation remains elusive for millions i.e. the average person in the township subconsciously believes the probability of making life-changing money is much higher when gambling than when trying their luck with formal economic opportunities. Their beliefs may or may not be true but this gambling boom shows in plain sight how people feel about the economic opportunities and in a way have given up on formal means and are looking for ways out.

The country's employment rate of just 40% is among the lowest globally, well below the G20 emerging-market average of around 60%

Digital Revolution and Mobile Penetration

The gambling boom is intrinsically linked to technological transformation. With smartphone penetration exceeding 70% of South Africa's population and 74.7% internet penetration, mobile gambling has become the primary driver of growth. Online gambling services generated R152.6 billion in 2023, up from just R10.1 billion in 2018, an explosive 1,411% increase as shown above.

Sports betting dominates at 61% of participation, followed by Lotto and slots. The shift from traditional casinos to digital platforms is stark: while casinos controlled over 80% of South Africa's gambling market in 2010, they now account for just 24%, while online gambling represents 70%, and accelerating.

Regulatory Vacuum and Enforcement Failures

South Africa's gambling regulation remains fragmented and under-resourced. The National Gambling Amendment Act of 2008 set frameworks for online gambling regulation, but key provisions were never proclaimed, leaving online casino-style gambling prohibited while sports betting operates under provincial licenses. This creates a legislative “grey-area” that undermines both clarity and enforcement.

The enforcement apparatus is woefully inadequate. The Gauteng Gambling Board operates with only three law enforcement inspectors instead of the required 10, with seven positions vacant. All three officers have received death threats, obstruction, or intimidation, forcing them to work in pairs and limiting inspection capacity. Meanwhile, international operators exploit weak enforcement to target South Africans illegally, offering local payment options and customer service in South African languages.

What could the long term effects be?

What kind of businesses are supported? What kinds of businesses will be thriving in 10-20 years from now?

The way consumers choose to spend is a vote and support for the kind of businesses and jobs they want to have in the future economy. When a growing share of household discretionary and leisure income goes into gambling, every rand spent there is a rand not available to movie theaters, gyms, bookstores, sports clubs, or travel operators. These businesses either stagnate, close, or simply never emerge, shrinking the diversity of the leisure and services sector over time.

The data shows that gambling is not just another entertainment option, it’s now fundamentally altering South Africa’s demand profile and crowding out more productive or socially enriching enterprises. In the current market, this leaves many regions with fewer cultural venues, private sports clubs, or family-friendly entertainment businesses, many have already disappeared from city centers or have never scaled, replaced by high-frequency betting shops and aggressive online gambling marketing. Over a 10- to 20-year horizon, this trend will leave the consumer economy less diverse, less innovative, and with fewer avenues for personal development and social cohesion.

Unlike businesses that create value by producing goods, services, or experiences, the gambling sector is essentially extractive: it redistributes income from millions of households to a few operators and (increasingly) offshore platforms, rather than generating new real output or jobs relative to its scale. This extraction undermines the multiplier effect seen in sectors like manufacturing, hospitality, or sport, which supply chains and communities depend on for broad-based development.

When households allocate significant portions of their income to gambling, they’re not just taking personal risks, they are collectively shaping an economy that is narrower, more exploitative, and far less capable of broad-based wealth creation or cultural vitality in the long run.

Debt Spiral & Financial Irresponsibility

20% of gamblers have resorted to borrowing, using credit, or selling assets to fund their gambling habits. More alarmingly, 63% of gamblers use money from essentials rather than discretionary income, while 50% now actively include gambling in their monthly budgets alongside rent and groceries. This represents a fundamental shift in household financial priorities, where gambling has become a regular commitment rather than occasional entertainment.

Gambling-related financial behaviors create cascading credit problems. Cash advances from credit cards, typically carrying 3-5% fees with immediate interest accumulation, become common. Payday loans, notorious for exorbitant fees, provide quick access to gambling funds but trap borrowers in high-cost debt cycles.

When gambling consumes available funds, households fail to meet other obligations, resulting in missed payments recorded by credit agencies and negative credit score impacts. Casino lines of credit, involving hard credit checks, create additional debt exposure specifically tied to gambling activities

GDP & Employment Contribution VS. Economic Drain

The gambling industry contributes approximately 1% of South Africa's GDP, generating R4.8 billion in tax revenue and supporting over 32,000 direct jobs. However, this apparent economic benefit masks a more complex reality of wealth redistribution rather than creation.

With an employment multiplier of 5.6, every 100 direct jobs creates 416 indirect positions across the economy. Total employment reaches approximately 166,202 jobs (29,679 direct, 136,523 indirect), contributing 1.7% of non-agricultural formal employment. The sector's 2023-24 revenue of R59.3 billion approaches the scale of South Africa's healthcare industry (R199.7 billion)

However, the economic benefits are undermined by significant capital flight through illegal offshore gambling platforms. Licensed betting sites pay taxes, but offshore casinos extract millions from the country with South Africa receiving no fiscal benefit. This represents a substantial leakage from the domestic economy, particularly problematic given South Africa's current account challenges.

The industry's growth model is fundamentally extractive, it generates revenue from losses rather than productive economic activity. While providing employment and tax revenue, gambling primarily redistributes wealth from households (often lower-income) to operators and shareholders, with negative multiplier effects through reduced consumption in other sectors.

Family and Community Breakdown

Gambling addiction creates profound social disruption beyond financial impact. Research indicates gambling generates relationship harms, health-related consequences, and cultural damage within communities. The accessibility of mobile gambling exacerbates these problems by removing traditional social controls and enabling continuous, private betting behavior.

Family relationships suffer as gambling consumes time, attention, and resources that would otherwise support household stability. The industry's targeting of young males, particularly vulnerable given South Africa's youth unemployment crisis, threatens intergenerational economic mobility and family formation patterns.

Conclusion

The transformation of gambling from entertainment to essential household expense signals a society where legitimate economic participation has become so difficult that millions turn to chance as their primary wealth-building strategy. This represents not economic development but economic pathology—a sign of institutional failure rather than market success.

The challenge for policymakers lies in balancing the industry's economic contributions against its social costs, while building regulatory capacity adequate to govern a digitally-enabled sector that transcends traditional jurisdictional boundaries. Without decisive action, South Africa risks entrenching gambling dependency as a permanent feature of its economic landscape, with devastating consequences for household financial stability, social cohesion, and long-term economic development.

The gambling boom may generate impressive revenue figures, but it ultimately reflects the commodification of desperation in a society where too many citizens have been excluded from legitimate pathways to economic advancement. The true measure of its impact will not be found in GDP contributions or employment statistics, but in the financial wreckage left in millions of South African homes.

Sources

• Appetite for gambling and betting grows (Stats SA) - https://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=18746

• ECONOMIC IMPACT OF LEGALISED GAMBLING IN SOUTH AFRICA (National Gambling Board South Africa) - https://www.ngb.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Economic-impact-of-gambling-in-South-Africa-2013.pdf

• OECD Economic Surveys: South Africa 2025 (OECD) - https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-economic-surveys-south-africa-2025_7e6a132a-en/full-report/enhancing-job-creation-and-workforce-integration-in-a-changing-economy_e1449aca.html

• The Rise in Gambling: A Financial Threat to South African Youth (Vantage Debt Management) - https://www.vantagedebtmanagement.co.za/the-rise-in-gambling-a-financial-threat-to-south-african-youth/

• From casinos to smartphones – the big shift in South Africa’s gambling market (Tech Central) - https://techcentral.co.za/casinos-smartphones-south-africa-gambling/258196/

• Online gambling accounts for 1.6% of household spending in South Africa (The Star) - https://thestar.co.za/capeargus/news/2025-09-08-online-gambling-accounts-for-1-6-of-household-spending-in-south-africa/

• South Africa's spend R1.1 trillion on gambling: is this a crisis, an economic boon or a social catastrophe? (POST) - https://thepost.co.za/opinion/2025-07-03-south-africas-spend-r1-1-trillion-on-gambling-is-this-a-crisis-an-economic-boon-or-a-social-catastrophe/

• South Africa’s online gambling market “accelerating” amid SunBet’s strong 70% revenue growth (Gambling TV) - https://gamblingtv.com/featured/2025/09/12/south-africas-online-gambling-market-accelerating-amid-sunbets-strong-70-revenue-growth/

• Special focus: Part 2 — Calls grow for the overhaul of online gambling laws (The Witness) - https://witness.co.za/news/2025/09/10/special-focus-part-2-calls-grow-for-the-overhaul-of-online-gambling-laws/

• The 'gambling mafia's shadowy grip over South Africa (Sunday Independent) - https://sundayindependent.co.za/dispatch/2025-07-09-the-gambling-mafias-shadowy-grip-over-south-africa/

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