SOUTH AFRICA

    Gambling regulation

    • Online casino:
      Illegal
    • Online sports betting:
      Regulated
    • Gambling in detail:
      more details

    Coat of Arms

    Coat of arms of the country of SOUTH AFRICA

    download SVG or PNG

    Population

    • Population: 55908900 people.
    • Official Language: Afrikaans, English
    • HDI: 0,717
    • Salary: $1238
    • Poverty rate: 61.6%
    • Gini: 63%
    • The believing population: 91%
    • Main religion: Christianity (81.2%)
    • Second religion: Atheism (14.9%)

    Harmful habits

    • Alcohol: 7.2 litres/year
    • Smoking: 20.3%

    Internet

    • Internet users: 53.6%
    • Mobile Internet: 86.3%
    • Landline Internet: 13%
    • Internet speed: 33.6 Mbps
    • Country Top Level Domain: .ZA

    General information about the country

    • Country name:
      SOUTH AFRICA
    • Code (2-digit):
      ZA
    • Continent:
      Africa
    • Country level:
      Tier 2
    • Capital:
      Pretoria
    • Country area:
      1219912 sq km.
    • Telephone code:
      27
    • Currency (code):
      Rand (ZAR)

    Geographical features of the country

    Administrative division into regions

    Province (10): Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape, Gauteng, West Coast, Free State.

    Features of the country

    The modern territory of the country was partially or fully occupied by the following states: the British Empire (now Great Britain), Transvaal, Orange Free State.

    South Africa has access to the following lakes: Sibhai.

    The following rivers flow through the territory: Orange, Limpopo, Vaal, Komati.

    South Africa owns the islands: Marion Island, Prince Edward.

    Mountains on the territory of the country: Maheka, Mafadi, Njesuti, Sekoko, Champagne Castle, Lithobolong, Trojan Wall, Kantuba, Pampiring, Botolong, Popple, Giant's Castle, Monk's Cloak, Kwa-Duma, Ben-Makdui, Kompassberg, Seveksport Peak, Torberg, Matrosberg, Wood Peak and others.

    There are deserts on the territory of the country: Kalahari, Karru.

    Famous caves on the territory of the country: Keos Cave.

    Gambling regulation

    • Online casinos:
      Illegal
    • Online sports betting:
      Regulated

    Read more about regulation

    South Africa's Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) recently announced the implementation of a standard that requires organisations involved in cryptocurrency transactions to share details of all transactions to combat money laundering in the country.

    It is known that almost 6 million South Africans own crypto-assets. The South African authorities intend to introduce the initiative in 2025.

    However, the South African Bookmakers Association (SABA) recently reported that 38% of players use licensed platforms. The remaining 62% play on more than 2 thousand illegal sites.

    Recall that only online betting is allowed in South Africa. Since 2008, the authorities have been trying to legalise online casinos, but so far the bill approved by the President has not entered into force.

    Regulation of online casinos in South Africa remains weak. There is little information on how illegal gambling sites are controlled and whether a system of penalties is in place in practice.

    Top brands in the country

    Top 20 iGaming Brands (October 2024):

    1. Hollywoodbets (13,010,000)
    2. Betway (11,510,000)
    3. YesPlay (453,000)
    4. Betfred (297,000)
    5. Supabets (280,000)
    6. SunBet (228,000)
    7. Easybet (203,000)
    8. 10bet (136,000)
    9. Gbets (100,000)
    10. Sportingbet (90 000)
    11. Playabets (81 000)
    12. LottoStar (68 000)
    13. Springbok Casino (45,000)
    14. TopBet (33 000)
    15. Interbet (33 000)
    16. Yebo Casino (31,000)
    17. JabulaBets (23,000)
    18. Bet365 (16,000)
    19. Betxchange (15,000)
    20. Playbet (14,000)

    (search volume in brackets)

    Top payment systems

    In 2024, the popular payment methods are:

    • Visa
    • Mastercard
    • Kazang
    • OTT Vouchers
    • 1 Voucher
    • Blu Voucher
    • ABSA bank
    • PayPal
    • Amazon Pay
    • SnapScan

    Online Gambling in the country

    South Africa is the leader of the African continent in terms of both the number of players and the volume of gambling business. South Africans make more than half of the bets in the whole continent.

    The ratio of players by gender:

    • 58.7 % are men;
    • 41.3 per cent are women.

    Average age of players:

    According to the South African government, more than 50 per cent of adult South Africans bet on sports. The average age of punters does not exceed 28 years.

    Lotteries are very popular, with 47% of the population playing them. The ratio of men to women playing lotteries is 50/50, with the main age group being between 35 and 44 years old.

    Online slots are preferred by 25% of South African players, most often by middle-aged people (22% women, 28% men):

    • 28% are between 25 and 34 years old;
    • 30% are between 35 and 44 years old.

    About 49% of South Africans bet on sports, of which:

    • 56% are men;
    • 42% are women.

    According to recent studies, the number of active bettors in South Africa counts 60 million players aged 18 to 40 years. The most betting age group is between 24 and 34 years old. 62% of all respondents in this age group bet on sports occasionally.

    • Blask data from: 06/03/2025

    • Population: 60,443,000 people.
    • Population growth rate: 1.07% per year.
    • Internet users: 42,480,000 people.
    • Urbanization:

      Urbanization — 68.8%
    • Languages in the country:
      Zulu (official) — 25.3%
      Xhosa (official) — 14.8%
      Afrikaans (official) — 12.2%
      Pedi (official) — 10.1%
      Tswana (official) — 9.1%
      English (official) — 8.1%

    • Age structure:
      0-14 — 27.2%
      15-64 — 65.3%
      65+ — 7.5%
    • Median age:
      Total — 30.4
      Male — 30.1
      Female — 30.6
    • Literacy:
      Total — 95%
      Male — 95.5%
      Female — 94.5%

    • Real GDP:
      2021 — $841.739 billion
      2022 — $857.82 billion
      2023 — $862.981 billion
    • Real GDP growth:
      2021 — 4.7%
      2022 — 1.91%
      2023 — 0.6%
    • Real GDP per capita:
      2021 — $14,200
      2022 — $14,300
      2023 — $14,300

    Blask Index

    Shows the combined level of engagement and interest across all brands in the country. This metric serves as a barometer for the iGaming industry and integrates various indicators to provide an overall view of market trends and shifts.

    Top brands in the country

    SOUTH AFRICA, top brands in the country according to Blask.com (out of 166 found)
    *BAP (Brand's Accumulated Power) reflects the brand's share of consumer interest in the online gambling market. Relative presence of the brand in the country. Next, the BAP chart:

    • The data for this section was provided by the analytical service Blask.com. Currently, the service's database contains information on 62 countries and more than 2,500 brands. You can view all available countries with Blask statistics at this link.