Trade Union Solidarity is calling for stricter regulation of online gambling, tighter controls on gambling advertisements and stronger enforcement against illegal online casinos, warning that the industry’s rapid growth is putting South African households under increasing financial pressure.
The call follows a new report by the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) released earlier this month, which reveals that online gambling in South Africa grew by 390% between 2021 and 2025, raising concerns about the financial and social consequences for vulnerable consumers and their families.
The report recommends tighter restrictions on gambling marketing, more effective enforcement of existing bans on illegal online casinos, and stronger protections for young people and other vulnerable individuals.
According to the research, approximately R1.5 trillion was wagered across South Africa’s gambling industry during the 2024/25 financial year, with nearly three-quarters of the activity taking place online.
Although the figure includes repeated wagers using the same funds, gambling operators retained R74.5 billion in gross gambling revenue after paying out winnings.
The SRI report’s author and economic researcher, Theuns du Buisson, warned that the industry’s expansion was costing ordinary South Africans more than money, with families increasingly bearing the consequences of gambling losses.
“We are talking about an industry that is growing at an astonishing rate, but the cost involved cannot be measured merely in rands and cents,” Du Buisson said.
He said the figures represented people losing their hard-earned money and households already struggling to meet their basic needs.
The report identifies the widespread availability of mobile gambling platforms and the volume of online advertising as major factors driving the industry’s growth.
Du Buisson warned that the accessibility of gambling through mobile phones had made it possible for people to place bets almost anywhere and at any time, while advertising increasingly presented gambling as an opportunity to earn extra income.
For financially distressed households, he said, the promise of quick money could be particularly tempting, despite the risk of losing funds needed for essential expenses.
The report also cites preliminary research by the National Gambling Board suggesting that some people are taking out reckless loans and using social grants to finance their gambling.
Du Buisson also said international research referenced in the report links online gambling to a two- to fourfold higher likelihood of problem gambling compared with other forms of gambling.
Solidarity said its campaign for tighter regulation was aimed at protecting working people who risk losing the income they earn through hard work.
The organisation wants stronger oversight of online gambling platforms and advertising, arguing that existing measures must be enforced more effectively to prevent unlawful operators from targeting consumers.
Solidarity Helping Hand executive director Hannes Noëth warned that problem gambling affects entire families, particularly when money intended for food, school fees, rent and electricity is lost to betting.
“When money intended for food, school fees, rent, or electricity is gambled away, it is not only the person who placed the bet who loses,” Noëth said.
He said children and other family members often suffer the consequences, while households are left to deal with the financial and emotional damage.
Solidarity and Solidarity Helping Hand said the extraordinary growth of online gambling required an urgent review of the industry’s regulation and marketing practices.
They called for stricter controls on gambling advertisements, improved consumer protection and more effective action against illegal online gambling operations to limit the harm caused to South African families.
