Gambling industry wins, families lose – SRI report reveals shocking scale of online gambling

The online gambling industry is flourishing, while South African households are increasingly facing financial strain as a result.

Billions of rands are wagered annually in an industry that – according to new research by the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI) – affects not only people’s incomes but also families’ ability to put food on the table.

The scale of the problem is laid bare in a new SRI report released by Solidarity today.

A recording of the media conference will be distributed this week.

According to the report, online gambling in South Africa grew by a staggering 390% between 2021 and 2025.

The increased accessibility provided by mobile phones and the overwhelming volume of online gambling advertising play major roles in this.

In the 2024/25 financial year, approximately R1,5 trillion was wagered across the entire gambling industry, with nearly three-quarters of this taking place online.

Although this figure includes repeated wagers using the same funds, gambling operators retained R74,5 billion in gross gambling revenue after paying out winnings.

According to Theuns du Buisson, economic researcher at the SRI and the report’s author, the findings serve as a serious warning about the growing grip gambling is gaining on South Africans’ money.

“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.

“Behind these figures are ordinary South Africans losing their hard-earned money, households already struggling to keep their heads above water, and families who have to bear the consequences.

“The gambling industry wins all the way, at the expense of South African families. This is the reality revealed by this report, and it is one for which we need immediate answers,” says Du Buisson.

The report also cites preliminary research by the National Gambling Board, indicating that people are increasingly taking out reckless loans and even using social grants to gamble.

International research discussed in the report links online gambling to a two- to fourfold higher likelihood of problem gambling compared with other forms of gambling.

Du Buisson says these findings demonstrate how users can access such gambling platforms on a mobile phone within seconds.

“The casino is no longer located in a building you have to drive to; it is in your pocket. You can wager money anytime, anywhere, with just a few taps on your phone.

“What makes it even more dangerous is that gambling is increasingly portrayed as an opportunity to earn extra income.

“For someone already struggling financially, the promise of quick money can be particularly tempting. But gambling is not a way to earn an income; it can actually destroy the very money a family relies on,” he says.

According to Du Buisson, Solidarity’s involvement in this issue is a logical extension of its responsibility to protect the interests of working people.

“We fight every day for our members’ jobs, their salaries, and their social security. However, it is of little use if people work hard to earn an income, only to see it wiped out by gambling losses.

“We want to protect not only what people earn, but also what they can build for their families with that income.”

Solidarity aims to use the report to advocate for stricter regulation of online gambling and gambling advertisements.

This includes tighter restrictions on gambling marketing, better enforcement of existing bans on illegal online casinos, and greater protection for young people and other vulnerable individuals.

The human cost must also be considered, given how clearly money intended for food is now being diverted into gambling by far more families than ever before.

Hannes Noëth, Executive Director of Solidarity Helping Hand, says the real danger of problem gambling lies in the fact that the consequences often extend far beyond the gambler.

“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.

“It also affects the children who have to do without necessities and the family that must try to repair the financial and emotional damage. It impacts marriages, children, family relationships, and ultimately entire communities,” says Noëth.

Solidarity and Solidarity Helping Hand believe that the extraordinary growth of online gambling necessitates an urgent review of the industry’s regulation and marketing.

The organisations call, among other things, for stricter control of gambling advertisements, better protection for vulnerable consumers, and more effective regulation of online gambling platforms.

See the report here.