Online gambling is eating into South African grocery budgets

A survey from Trade Intelligence reveals that South Africans are increasingly diverting money away from groceries and household essentials to online gambling platforms. 

The survey collected information from 700 online gamblers in late 2025, who had admitted to playing on one of the many gambling and interactive betting platforms that are available.

The researchers provided respondents with a list of ten categories where online gambling money might otherwise have been spent.

Groceries, food and household essentials was the most chosen category by a long shot, far ahead of the other top three options: fast food and discretionary purchases.

Contradictorily, nearly two in every three players said that the reason they gamble online is to win money in the hope of covering everyday costs, not for excitement, entertainment or escapism.

However, almost half of the players admitted that they lose more money than they win, and 25% said they don’t keep track of how much they spend, win or lose. 

“The combination of these two findings underscores the desperation inherent in online gambling,” said Nicola Allen, senior analyst at Trade Intelligence.

“Players are trying to ‘make money’ to buy things like groceries, but they are simultaneously jeopardising their household’s ability to afford these basic essentials by gambling with grocery money.”

Data from the National Gambling Board shows that about R1.5 trillion was wagered in South Africa’s gambling industry in 2024/2025, nearly a third more than the previous year. The bulk of this spend is going to online gambling platforms. 

“Interestingly, it is games like Aviator, Starburst, Sugar Rush, that are driving traffic to sites like Hollywoodbets, Easybet and Yesplay – players may not even consider themselves to be ‘gamblers’,” said Allen. 

The dangerous impact of this spending has become a growing concern in South Africa, with the National Treasury considering a 20% tax on online gambling proceeds to “discourage problem and pathological gambling and their ill effects.”

Rise Mzansi Member of Parliament (MP) Makashule Gana told Newsday that parliament is aware that there is a displacement effect as a result of addiction to online gambling.

“It’s no longer used as a form of entertainment. People think they can use online gambling to survive or to get out of poverty, but we know that the house always wins,” he said.

“And for gambling houses, we know that it’s all about profit,” he added.

South Africans spent R1.5 trillion on gambling in one year

The R1.5 trillion figure comes from the National Gambling Board’s annual report for the financial year, which was presented to Parliament in October 2025.

The overwhelming majority of this spending came from the betting industry, with South Africans wagering R1.1 trillion in bets throughout the year.

This is nearly four times that of casinos, which generated R293 billion in turnover, followed by slot machines, also known as limited payout machines, at R55 billion, and bingo at R28 billion.

The legality surrounding online gambling is a grey area. In 2011, a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling declared online gambling illegal in South Africa.

However, online sports betting is completely legal, the most commonly used form of online gambling. 

However, lines become blurred when legal online sports betting companies offer “live” or “Vegas-style” games on their platforms.

The National Gambling Board asserts that these are illegal games, but operators argue that they are “fixed-odds betting events” which currently fall under their legal licence.

The findings of the Trade Intelligence survey reflect those of a National Gambling Board survey, in which it was found that the most common reason for gambling in South Africa was the “chance to win large sums of money.”

Second to this was “I needed the money”, a reason provided by 56% of respondents. Another 14% said they were gambling because they had lost their job.

A study by Nerilee Hing, Matthew Rockloff, and Matthew Browne, titled “A Bad Bet for Sports Fans: The Case for Ending the ‘Gambling’ of Sport,” argues that the gamblification of sports also normalises sports betting and, therefore, gambling among sports fans, including children.

While people under the age of 18 are prevented from participating in online sports betting activities, the study argues that this normalisation increases their chances of doing so once they reach the legal age.

“Would a tax on winnings curb spend on online gambling sites? Or would it just put further strain on household finances? This will no doubt be debated at length,” said Allen