South Africa’s online gambling activity rose 390% between 2021 and 2025, SRI report says

South Africa’s online gambling sector has moved fast enough to get the Solidarity Research Institute’s attention, with a report published on 12 October 2026 saying activity increased by 390% over four years. For PSPs and payment teams, the useful part is not the headline number itself, but the combination of mobile access, heavy advertising and a market that already handled about R1.5 trillion in turnover in 2024/25.

1. The SRI report says online gambling activity in South Africa rose by 390% between 2021 and 2025. It points to mobile technology and widespread advertising as key drivers, and calls for stronger safeguards for vulnerable consumers.
2. The report also notes that gambling services are now easy to reach through websites, applications and online promotional campaigns, without the customer having to visit a traditional gambling venue. In practice, that means the acquisition funnel is now part media funnel, part payments funnel.
3. For wider market context, approximately R1.5 trillion was wagered across South Africa’s gambling market during the 2024/25 financial year, while gross gambling revenue reached approximately R74.5 billion over the same period. The report is careful to separate turnover from GGR: turnover is the total amount wagered, while GGR is the difference between wagers and winnings paid to players.
4. The report also warns against reading the R1.5 trillion figure as player losses. That distinction matters for anyone assessing exposure, because turnover can be recycled through wins and repeated wagers, while GGR is the more relevant measure of what operators keep before other expenses.
5. Beyond commercial growth, the SRI says the issue extends to household finances, with gambling pressure landing on budgets that also need to cover food, housing, transport, education and debt repayments. The report does not say every participant faces financial difficulty; it says the broader expansion raises questions about the impact on families under pressure.