The province where South Africans gamble the most

The Western Cape is the province that contributed most to South Africa’s gross gambling revenue (GGR) in the 2023/24 financial year, overtaking the previous top dog, Gauteng. 

The National Gambling Board (NGB) revealed this when it published South Africa’s National Gambling Statistics for the 2023/24 financial year.

This report showed that South Africa’s gambling industry saw R1.1 trillion worth of wagers in the year, a 40.2% increase from the turnover generated during the previous financial year. 

GGR for the year amounted to R59.3 billion, a 25.7% increase from the previous year.

The Western Cape made the largest contribution (31.7%) to this total, with GGR of R18.78 billion. 

The second-largest contributor, with 22.1% of total GGR, was Gauteng, which contributed R13.10 billion.

This marks the first year since 2019/20 that Gauteng did not hold the top position.

The Western Cape has seen steady growth in gambling revenue since 2019, while Gauteng’s remained relatively flat.

Alongside the NGB, provincial authorities in South Africa regulate online betting in their respective provinces. 

Therefore, each province has its own regulatory body that monitors and enforces compliance with the relevant laws and regulations.

International Comparative Legal Guides (ICLG) explained that different provincial licensing boards in South Africa, therefore, permit their bookmaker licensees to offer different contingencies.  

ICLG said the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board and the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator have been leading the way in permitting their licensees to offer casino-style games.

This explains why Mpumalanga and the Western Cape have seen a significant jump in GGR over the past few years.

Mpumalanga went from one of the smallest contributors to GGR in 2019/20 to the third-largest, nearly overtaking Gauteng in the 2023/24 financial year.

The graph below shows the top three provinces that contributed to GGR in the 2023/24 financial year and how they have changed over the past few years.

The ICLG explained that this has resulted in players from all provinces being able to play these games even if they are residents in a province where their Provincial Licensing Board did not permit its bookmakers to offer such contingencies. 

“What contingencies are permitted to be offered by licensees of Provincial Licensing Boards is very much a provincial issue,” it explained.

SABC Sport explained that, from an international perspective, South Africa’s legal framework for online betting is unique. 

“While other countries have either banned online betting or have strict regulations in place, South Africa has taken a more liberal approach,” the publication said. 

This can be seen in the make-up of how the different gambling modes in South Africa contributed to GGR in the 2023/24 financial year.

Betting makes up by far the largest part of GGR, having contributed 60.5% or R35.9 billion of the total.

Online betting, which is only available for some provinces, contributed 49% or R28.97 billion to the total GGR. 

It is clear that online betting is becoming increasingly popular in South Africa, with sports betting in particular taking off.

Data from The Outlier shows that South Africans placed R418 billion worth of bets last year, an 80% increase from the R233 billion wagered in 2021/22.

However, according to SABC Sport, the lax rules around online betting in South Africa can create some problems.

“For example, the country’s laws do not allow for foreign operators to offer online betting services to South African residents,” the publication explained. 

“This has resulted in an unregulated market where South African residents can access online betting services from foreign operators that are not licensed in the country.”

“This unregulated market has created a number of issues, including a lack of consumer protection and a loss of tax revenue for the South African government.”

South Africa’s National Gambling Statistics for the 2023/24 financial year showed that taxes and levies amounted to R4.84 billion, around 8.16% of the total GGR.

At 49.9%, betting contributed the highest amount of taxes/levies relative to other gambling modes.