40% of South Africa Workers Are Permanent Gamblers!
According to stats from Old Mutual Corporate, 40% (6.52 million people) of the South African work force are engaged to serious gambling as a permanent way of earning an extra coin.
South Africa has a working labor force of At least 16.5 million people. Old Mutual Corporate reports that 40% of these people are now participating in active gambling permanently. This due to the country’s financial pressure rising across households.
Employees are now staking away their salaries as they try to earn an extra coin in between paydays as life in the African Giant country keeps on getting hard and harder.
Keri-Lee Edmond, Head of Business Intelligence at Old Mutual Corporate, commented on these stats and said: “What we are seeing is a society under strain. Short-term relief is consistently winning over long-term security. This is because many employees simply do not have the financial reserves they need to cope. This is no longer an individual challenge. It is a workforce-wide issue that employers need to factor into how they support their people.”
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Gambling On a National Level!
Noting on the height of gambling in the country, the report also pointed out that at a national level, StatsSA estimates that more than half, as much as 55% of recreational spending, is directed towards gambling activities.
“Our research shows that for many South Africans, this is no longer just about recreation or entertainment. Individuals are gambling to meet daily needs and expenses, pay off debt, or in an attempt to secure higher incomes. Statistically, we know this is not a sustainable way to improve financial outcomes,” Edmond concluded.
South Africa is the strongest economy in Africa, but, of late high levels of inflation are crumbling the country. There is an existing gap in unemployment and lack of permanent and up to standard infrastructures of production. Low income and unbalanced income per capita is resulting to almost every viable employee in the country result into gambling as a way of making an extra coin.
