South Africa’s gambling revenue hit a record ZAR59.3 billion in 2023-24, with sports betting leading the way. Explore key insights on player expenditure and market performance across provinces.
South Africa’s gross gaming revenue reached a record of ZAR59.3 billion (£2.58 billion/€3.07 billion/$3.37 billion) in the fiscal year 2023-24, while player expenditure also reached an all-time high.
Revenue increased by 25.7% from ZAR47.12 billion in 2022-23, the previous year’s record for South Africa. The most recent report from the country’s National Gambling Board covers the 12-month period ending March 31, 2024.
In South Africa, sports betting leads the way.
Sports betting was again the largest source of revenue, accounting for ZAR35.91 billion, or 60.5% of total revenue. This is up 51.2% from the previous year.
Online betting generated ZAR28.97 billion, accounting for 49% of total revenue in 2023-24. Online sports betting is currently only allowed in the Northern Cape, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and North West provinces.
Retail betting revenue for the year totaled ZAR6.94 billion, accounting for 19% of all betting revenue and 11.7% of overall market revenue.
Revenue remains flat across other gambling categories.
The boom in the sports betting industry was not repeated elsewhere.
Retail casinos were the next greatest source of revenue, at ZAR17.36 billion, however they stayed essentially unchanged, up 0.1% from the previous year.
Limited payout machines (LPMs), which are gambling machines with a restricted stake and prize, generated ZAR4.15 billion in revenue, a 1.9% decrease year on year. The remaining ZAR1.89 billion in revenue came from bingo, which increased by 2.4% year on year.
Player expenditure reaches record ZAR1.14 trillion.
Looking at how much people wagered, it totaled ZAR1.14 trillion in the fiscal year 2023-24, exceeding last year’s record of ZAR815.11 billion by 40.2%.
Sports betting wagers totaled ZAR761.26 billion, accounting for 66.6% of all wagers. Unlike revenue, the regulator did not split this between retail and online.
In 2023-24, players spent ZAR297.42 billion gaming at casinos, accounting for 26% of total wagers. Another ZAR53.74 billion was risked through LPMs, or 4.7% of all wagers, with bingo accounting for the remaining 2.6% (ZAR30.27 billion).
The Western Cape profits from online betting.
Breaking down the market by province, the Western Cape had the most gaming income at ZAR18.79 billion. This resulted from ZAR353.19 billion in player bets, the second largest provincial total in 2022-23. Western Cape is one of just a few provinces that allow legal online sports betting.
Gauteng, South Africa’s most populated region, finished second with ZAR13.10 billion in total revenue from ZAR173.7 billion in bets. Mpumalanga received the highest wagers at ZAR359.34 billion, but came third in terms of revenue at ZAR12.98 billion.
South Africa generated ZAR4.84 billion in tax revenue over the 12-month period. Sports betting accounted for 50%, or ZAR2.41 billion, including ZAR889 million from online wagering.
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