South Africa Sets New Gambling Revenue Record with ZAR59.3bn in 2023-24.
Gross gambling revenue in South Africa reached a record ZAR59.3 billion (£2.58 billion/€3.07 billion/$3.37 billion) in the 2023-24 financial year, with player spending also hitting an all-time high. This revenue marks a significant 25.7% increase from the previous record of ZAR47.12 billion in 2022-23. The latest figures were released in a report from the National Gambling Board, covering the year ending March 31, 2024.
Sports betting continued to be the primary source of revenue, generating ZAR35.91 billion, which represents 60.5% of the total revenue and reflects a remarkable 51.2% increase from the prior year. Of this total, ZAR28.97 billion came from online betting, accounting for 49% of overall revenue for 2023-24. It is important to note that online sports betting is currently legal only in certain provinces, including the Northern Cape, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and North West.
On the other hand, retail betting generated ZAR6.94 billion during the year, which amounts to 19% of total betting revenue and 11.7% of the overall market revenue. However, the significant growth in sports betting was not mirrored in other gambling categories. Retail casinos contributed ZAR17.36 billion, showing minimal growth at just 0.1% higher than the previous year. Meanwhile, limited payout machines (LPMs)—which feature capped bets and prizes—generated ZAR4.15 billion, reflecting a 1.9% decrease year-on-year. Bingo, on the other hand, reported a 2.4% increase, contributing ZAR1.89 billion to total revenue.
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Looking at consumer spending, total wagers amounted to ZAR1.14 trillion in the 2023-24 financial year, surpassing last year’s record of ZAR815.11 billion by 40.2%. Sports betting accounted for ZAR761.26 billion, representing 66.6% of all wagers. Unlike revenue, the regulator did not break down these figures between retail and online betting. Additionally, players wagered ZAR297.42 billion in casinos, making up 26% of total wagers, while LPMs attracted ZAR53.74 billion (4.7%). Bingo accounted for the remaining 2.6%, totaling ZAR30.27 billion in wagers.
When examining gambling revenue by province, the Western Cape emerged as the leader with ZAR18.79 billion generated from ZAR353.19 billion in player bets, marking the second-highest provincial total in 2022-23. This province is one of the few that permit legal online sports betting. Gauteng, being the most populous region in South Africa, ranked second with ZAR13.10 billion in total revenue from ZAR173.7 billion in bets. Mpumalanga recorded the highest volume of wagers at ZAR359.34 billion but came third in revenue with ZAR12.98 billion.
South Africa collected ZAR4.84 billion over the 12-month period, with half of this amount (ZAR2.41 billion) derived from sports betting, including ZAR889 million from online wagering. South Africa Gambling Revenue
