Increased smartphone penetration – now at over 70% of South Africa’s population – and strong adoption of digital platforms is driving a surge in online gambling in South Africa.

Also known as “iGaming”, revenues from internet-driven gambling channels such as sports betting, virtualised casino games and live dealer games grew by 26% year on year in the 2023/2024 financial year, with the broader African market projected to surpass the R205-billion mark by 2032 – representing a compound annual growth rate of 7%.

This is according to the iGaming Trends 2025 report by Malta-based iGaming software supplier Softswiss. Now its third year, the report surveyed operators, game developers, technology providers, media professionals and affiliate marketers in North America, Europe, South America, the Asia-Pacific region and Africa.

“South Africa’s iGaming market is growing due to mobile adoption and socioeconomic changes,” said the report. “Operators have adapted by offering sports betting-compliant games, with local brands competing alongside global companies like Betway.”

According to the report, sports betting represents the bulk of revenues, accounting for some 60% of the market, or R36-billion. Sports betting taxes contributed R2.4-billion to South Africa’s national fiscus in 2023/2024.

Although sports betting is legal in most provinces, other forms of online gambling, like remote casinos, are not. One of the aims of the Remote Gambling Bill, which is backed by the Democratic Alliance, is to regulate various types of online gambling by introducing uniform norms and standards pertaining to “interactive gambling”.

Addiction

The introduction of a regulatory framework to govern online casinos and other forms of iGaming presents the industry with an opportunity for expansion while simultaneously opening a new source of tax revenue. On the flip side, the ease of access to internet-based gambling platforms makes the enforcement of legislation and regulations increasingly difficult, exacerbating the negative impact of gambling addiction on vulnerable communities.

Speaking in parliament in November, Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana urged the department of social development to address the “scourge” of online gambling and not leave it to the department of trade, industry & competition to deal with alone.

Read: Crypto should be regulated as gambling, UK politicians say

“We have a new crisis in this country affecting young people and grant recipients, and it is online gambling,” Gana told MPs. “Actually, online gambling is more addictive than nyaope (a form of cheap heroin popular in townships). It is a social ill and we need to deal with this problem because these online gambling companies are targeting young people and grant recipients.”

Data from the National Gambling Board shows that over the past 20 years, the gambling sector has grown annual gross revenues from R8-billion in the 2003/2004 financial year to a whopping R59-billion in 2023/2024. Over the same period, market share has shifted away from physical establishments – dominated by casinos at 89% market share – to online sports betting, which has taken 69% of the market in 2023/2024, with casinos at just 29%.

Statistics from the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation, a provider of free treatment and counselling to South Africans trapped by problem gambling and gambling addiction, show that since the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a similar shift in the preferred mode of gambling reported by those who contact the organisation seeking help.

But the iGaming industry faces other challenges as well. As the mode these businesses use to distribute their products and services shifts from physical spaces to virtual platforms, the nature of the risks pertaining to the security of both the establishments and their customers also changes.

Read: SuperSportBet: MultiChoice launches new sports betting platform

“In 2025, protecting player data and ensuring regulatory compliance are non-negotiable. Advanced security measures, including anti-DDoS (distributed denial of service) protection and account safeguards, are critical for maintaining trust,” said the Softswiss report.

Softswiss predicts that the introduction of the PSD2 (Payment Services Directive 2) open banking standard, an EU regulation mandating banks to open access to customer payment data to authorised third-party providers through secure application programming interfaces, will be another growth driver of iGaming in 2025.

The inclusion of crypto payments is expected to have a similar effect, although many countries, including South Africa, are still working on incorporating cryptocurrencies into their financial systems.

“For iGaming, the rise of crypto payments provides new opportunities to reach a broader audience, especially in regions with tight financial regulations. However, increased scrutiny means that operators must ensure compliance with anti-money laundering processes, especially as crypto moves further into the regulatory spotlight,” said the report. — (c) 2025 NewsCentral Media

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