The 2023-24 financial year marked a period of unprecedented growth for South Africa’s gambling industry, with gross gambling revenue (GGR) reaching a new peak of ZAR59.3 billion. This figure represents a substantial 25.7% increase from the previous year’s ZAR47.12 billion, signaling robust industry dynamics.
Unprecedented growth in gambling revenue:
According to the National Gambling Statistics FY2023/24 report(pdf) issued by South Africa’s National Gambling Board, the year ending March 31, 2024, saw gambling revenues in South Africa exceed expectations across several sectors. Sports betting emerged as the dominant force, contributing 60.5% of the total revenue, which equates to ZAR35.91 billion, up by an impressive 51.2% from the previous year.
The sports betting sector’s significant revenue was largely driven by online platforms, which alone generated ZAR28.97 billion. This segment now accounts for 49% of the overall gambling revenue, highlighting a shift towards digital betting solutions. Interestingly, legal online sports betting is restricted to just five provinces: Northern Cape, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and North West.
While online betting soared, retail betting also held its ground with revenues of ZAR6.94 billion, making up 19% of the betting total or 11.7% of the overall market. In contrast, other areas of gambling saw more stagnant growth rates. Retail casinos slightly increased their revenue to ZAR17.36 billion, a modest 0.1% rise year-over-year. Limited payout machines (LPMs) and bingo sectors experienced mixed fortunes, with LPM revenues falling by 1.9% to ZAR4.15 billion and bingo revenues climbing 2.4% to reach ZAR1.89 billion.
Record player spending:
The total amount wagered by players also surged to a record ZAR1.14 trillion, a 40.2% increase from the previous year’s ZAR815.11 billion. Sports betting wagers dominated this spending, accounting for 66.6% of the total at ZAR761.26 billion. Meanwhile, casino gambling represented 26% of the wagers, amounting to ZAR297.42 billion, and the remaining stakes were spread among LPMs and bingo.
The Western Cape led the provinces in gambling revenue with ZAR18.79 billion generated, largely due to its legal online betting scene. Gauteng followed with ZAR13.10 billion in revenue from ZAR173.7 billion in bets, while Mpumalanga saw the highest wagering volume at ZAR359.34 billion but ranked third in revenue generation.
The gambling sector also made significant tax contributions, totaling ZAR4.84 billion for the year, half of which originated from sports betting activities, including ZAR889 million from online bets alone.
The board commented: “The gambling industry grew by 25.7 per cent between FY 2022/23 and FY 2023/24, however this growth was unbalanced between modes of gambling. Growth is now entirely driven by sports betting and other contingencies. In addition to high growth figures, the betting segment also expanded its market share to 60.5 percent of gross gambling revenue (GGR).”