Licensed South African bookmakers have called on banks and payment providers to block transactions to “illegal” offshore gambling platforms, which they claim now account for nearly two-thirds of all online betting activity in the country.
The South African Bookmakers Association (Saba) has said in a new report it commissioned from global gaming research firm YieldSec that unlicensed operators accounted for about 62% of online gambling activity in South Africa, diverting more than R50-billion in gross gambling revenue offshore each year. An estimated 16 million South Africans used these platforms in the past year, the report found.
“The majority of online gambling activity in South Africa is still taking place outside the regulated system,” said Sean Coleman, CEO of Saba, in a statement on Tuesday. “That means millions of consumers are exposed to operators who pay no local taxes, provide no consumer protection and operate entirely outside of South African law.”
Under the National Gambling Act, it is unlawful to offer or participate in gambling services in South Africa without a valid local licence. Despite this, offshore operators continue to target South African consumers, often operating under licences issued in jurisdictions such as Curaçao, Malta, Gibraltar and the Philippines that have no legal standing in this country.
Saba’s most pointed intervention is aimed at the financial sector. Coleman argued that South African banks, third-party payment providers and credit card companies are effectively facilitating unlawful transactions by processing payments between local consumers and offshore gambling operators.
“Each time a player located in South Africa places a bet on a foreign-based online gambling site, an unlawful gambling activity occurs – facilitated by, among others, the bank of the player in South Africa,” Coleman said.
‘Conduit’
“South African banks and credit card institutions serve as a conduit between the online gambler’s banking account and the foreign-based gambling website operator’s banking account, without which the unlawful gambling transaction would not be able to occur.”
Saba warned that consumers who use unlicensed platforms face significant legal and financial exposure. Winnings from unlawful gambling activities are not legally protected and may be confiscated under South African law. Individuals may also face prosecution for participating in illegal gambling.
Read: South Africa wants to tax online gambling. The industry is fighting back
“Many consumers are unaware that using these sites is not only risky, but unlawful,” Coleman said. “There is no guarantee that winnings will be paid out, and players have no recourse if they are defrauded or exploited.”
The YieldSec report was commissioned by Saba, which represents licensed bookmakers with a direct commercial interest in seeing unlicensed competitors shut down. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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