South Africans wagered R1.1-trillion in local gambling industry in a year
Western Cape was largest market, with 31.7% of gambling revenue
Image: Ruslan Olinchuk
The National Gambling Board says South Africans wagered a staggering R1.1-trillion in the local gambling industry between April 1 2023 and March 31 2024.
The gross gambling revenue (GGR) for the same period amounted to R59.3bn, a 25.7% increase from the previous year. The betting industry generated more than half of the total GGR.
“Analysis of GGR by gambling mode revealed betting to have generated 60.5% of industry GGR at R35.9bn. Casinos also generated a sizeable proportion of GGR at R17.4bn (29.3%). The limited-payout machines (LPM) industry is the third-largest sector (7%), generating R4.1bn during FY2023/24. The bingo industry generated 3.2% of revenues at R1.9n,” the report read.
In terms of regional contributions, the Western Cape emerged as the largest gambling market, accounting for 31.7% of the GGR. Gauteng and Mpumalanga followed closely, with contributions of 22.1% and 21.9% respectively.
The GGR growth between modes of betting showed that betting, including horse racing and sport, dominated the market, while other modes declined or experienced low growth.
“Betting increased by 51.2% relative to the previous year. The casino industry saw minuscule growth (0.1%), while LPM GGR declined by 1.9%. The bingo industry experienced low growth of 2.4%.”
The report highlighted that taxes and levies generated from the gambling industry amounted to R4.8bn, a 19.2% increase on the previous year.
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