Concerns about ActionSA party funding

One of the biggest donors of political funding in South Africa is Martin Moshal, a gambling tycoon whose Microgaming company powers Betway.

Moshal has donated at least R103 million to political parties since the 2021/22 financial year, with ActionSA receiving a significant portion of this, amounting to at least R37 million.

Other beneficiaries include the Democratic Alliance, Build One South Africa, and the Inkatha Freedom Party.

This has raised concerns that political party funding is being used to influence South Africa’s gambling policy.

“It is a concern when gambling operators become the key funders of political parties,” RISE Mzansi MP Makashule Gana told Newsday.

“It does not inspire confidence that political leaders or parties will spearhead gambling reforms in South Africa.”

Economic Freedom Fighters MP Sinawo Thambo argues this point more directly, saying that the relationship between Moshal and ActionSA “is practically ownership.”

“There does not exist a more consistent and cumulative pattern of funding than this,” he added.

Thambo was referring to a string of donations ranging between R1 million and R4 million between 2022 and 2024.

However, ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont told Newsday that the only reason the party can have its funding scrutinised to this extent is because of its transparency in reporting.

This is not the case with other parties, such as the ANC, which has not disclosed where 80% of its private funding has come from, or the MK Party, who has declared just a couple hundred thousand rand.

ActionSA currently holds six of the 400 seats in the National Assembly.

Ever since the Political Party Funding Act came into effect in 2021, following a 2018 Constitutional Court ruling, parties have been mandated to declare donations above R100,000. This figure was later raised to R200,000.

The legislation also introduced donation limits, IEC oversight, and public access to funding data.

Since then, over R880.7 million has been reported in donations exceeding the minimum declaration threshold, meaning Moshal’s contributions comprise more than 10% of this amount.

However, Moshal argues that he believes these donations will help the country fulfil its potential.

“As individuals, there’s only so much we can achieve. A government can have an impact on the entire country, for better or worse,” he said.

“That’s why investment in competent parties with integrity can have such an impact on the country as a whole.”

ActionSA responds

When asked about whether donors may influence the party’s stance on policies, such as the regulation of online gambling, ActionSA told Newsday that this is not the case.

“Donors donate to ActionSA based on the values the party stands for, and they (the donors) fully appreciate that,” the party said.

As for its stance on gambling, the party said that it does not support the outright ban of online gambling or the advertising thereof.

Instead, it advocates for the regulation of the sector through taxation, using the proceeds to mitigate the effects on society.

ActionsSA referred Newsday to a speech delivered by its Parliamentary Chief Whip, Lerato Ngobeni, before the National Assembly on 31 October.

In it, Ngobeni said that gambling advertising has become excessive and that it has “effectively turned every cell phone into a slot machine.”

The National Gambling Board’s annual report for the 2024/25 financial year revealed that South Africans wagered R1.5 trillion on gambling-related activities throughout the period.

As a result, the industry generated R75 billion in revenue, of which only R5 billion was paid in tax.

“We agree that fair regulation is urgently needed,” she said.

“We must urgently find ways to fairly and transparently regulate the industry — not to punish, but to protect, uplift and invest.”

Ngobeni argues that even if South Africa implemented a 1% fair-share levy on the gambling sector, it would be able to generate R15 billion.

She says the funding from this levy could be used to mitigate the effects that gambling has on society.

This includes expanding the Gambling Addiction Hotline, supporting rehabilitation centres, and investing in education, safety, and essential frontline services.

In response to Thambo’s comment made on X, ActionSA’s National Director of Communications and Parliamentary Operations, Matthew George, did not defend the donations.

Instead, he accused the EFF of refusing to be transparent about their donations, highlighting the funding of the party by Adriano Mazzotti, who has allegedly been linked to the cross-border smuggling of illicit cigarettes.

Mazzotti funded the registration of the EFF.

The party also received a loan of R60 million during the 2023/24 financial year, more than all other private funding sources combined, without providing information about who the lender was.

Similalrly, civil watchdog My Vote Counts, points to a line item titled “property, plant, and equipment” in the party’s statement of financial position as demonstrating “just how much we don’t know about about our parties financial affairs.”