South Africa’s online gambling sector is facing renewed scrutiny after new research indicated that illegal operators account for an estimated 62 per cent of the market.
Sean Coleman, head of the SA Bookmakers’ Association, told stakeholders that around 16 million South Africans engage with unlicensed offshore sites, many based in jurisdictions such as Curaçao, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, Malta and the Philippines. More than 2,000 illegal operators and over 1,100 affiliate sites are targeting local players.
Coleman said these platforms pay no tax, provide no local employment and fall outside national regulatory structures. He called for improved consumer education and stronger enforcement to distinguish legal operators from illegal ones.
Yield Sec data shows that illegal operators generated an estimated R72.2bn in gross gambling revenue (GGR) last year, compared with R33.4bn in legal online GGR and R74bn across all licensed gambling sectors.
Legal betting activity has grown, driven in part by players moving from unlicensed sites back to regulated operators. However, industry figures warned of rising online gambling activity among financially distressed consumers, including students and social grant recipients.
Challenges include fragmented regulation, with responsibilities split between the National Gambling Board, the National Lotteries Commission and nine provincial licensing authorities. Coleman said coordinated enforcement, clearer market conduct rules and updated tools such as a modernised self-exclusion register are needed.
Industry representatives also pointed to international measures, including payment blocks, credit card bans and domain seizure, as potential models for South Africa.
The post Illegal online gambling dominates South African market appeared first on G3 Newswire.
South Africa’s online gambling sector is facing renewed scrutiny after new research indicated that illegal operators account for an estimated 62 per cent of the market. Sean Coleman, head of the SA Bookmakers’ Association, told stakeholders that around 16 million South Africans engage with unlicensed offshore sites, many based in jurisdictions such as Curaçao, Gibraltar,…
The post Illegal online gambling dominates South African market appeared first on G3 Newswire.