Stricter gambling advertising controls are on their way

The days of gambling operators flooding the airwaves, billboards and sport pitches with advertising appear to be coming to a close.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) is drafting new rules and standards for gambling advertising, expected to be published by July.

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This is partly in response to Rise Mzansi’s call for much tougher restrictions on gambling advertising and the massive social harm caused by an explosion of online betting since 2021.

“We will also be responding with norms and standards to curb the extent of gambling advertising,” said dtic director-general Simphiwe Hamilton in response to Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana, according to Business Day.

“We expect to publish these, as well as gambling advertising regulations before July 2026.”

Regulatory responsibilities

The dtic is also looking at ways to clamp down on illegal operators who target South Africans from weakly regulated jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man and the Philippines.

They pay no taxes in SA and make no contribution to social betterment.

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National Treasury has proposed a 20% national tax on gross gaming revenue (GGR), while the National Gambling Board (NGB) has called for stricter enforcement of advertising laws by provincial licensing authorities.

A National Gambling Amendment Bill currently before parliament proposes several key reforms, including repositioning the NGB as a regulator, strengthening national oversight, introducing a register of unlawful gambling operators, imposing restrictions on advertising and promotion, and efforts to ensure better player protection.

The dtic says it is working with the provinces to iron out the division of regulatory responsibilities.

Rise Mzansi has called for:

• A ban on gambling advertising between 5am and 10am and 5pm and 10pm;
• An increase in online gambling ‘sin’ taxes of 8% for provinces and 10% nationally;
• A rise in contributions to the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation from 0.1% to 1% of gross gambling revenue;
• A mandate forcing gambling operators to allocate 40% of their marketing budgets to responsible gambling messaging;
• A ban on the use of credit and overdrafts for gambling purposes;
• A crackdown on illegal gambling operators; and
• Strict controls on influencer and sport sponsorships by gambling operators.

The two largest online gambling operators in SA are Hollywoodbets and Betway.

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South Africans are being bombarded with gambling advertisements every hour of every day, says Rise Mzansi in a letter to Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau.

“These advertisements do not adequately communicate the dangers of gambling, and this has resulted in thousands of South Africans losing millions. This has exasperated the unsustainable growth of gambling in our country and must end now!”

Gambling operators contend they are providing entertainment, yet recent studies show many gamblers are doing it out of desperation, even cutting back on groceries to place bets.

Financial and social impact

According to research by Experian and Vault22, there is a clear correlation between gambling activity and financial distress. Those with barely enough money to cover basic needs are blowing up to 40% of their gross income on bets.

Even wealthier cohorts are spending 38-50% of income on gambling – more than they spend on groceries.

More recently, research house Trade Intelligence reported that 39% of online punters are gambling more than they did a year ago.

It’s fast becoming a national crisis, capturing the attention of politicians.

This has prompted companies such as Capitec, Pick n Pay, Famous Brands and The Foschini Group (TFG) to sound the alarm over the impact of gambling on consumer spending.

Pick n Pay CEO Sean Summers called for a complete ban on gambling advertising, which he said contributes to financial distress among some of the country’s most vulnerable groups.

In November 2025, more than 107 organisations spanning labour, welfare, faith-based and community groups called for a 90-day national action plan including marches and petitions, demanding a total national ban on all forms of online gambling and advertising, similar to the ban on tobacco advertising.

One of the biggest donors to SA political parties is Martin Moshal, a major indirect shareholder in Betway, which is owned by the US-listed Super Group.

According to IEC disclosures, he divvied up R103 million since 2021/22 to the Democratic Alliance (DA), ActionSA, Build One South Africa, and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

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This largesse seems to have blunted the enthusiasm for political reform among some recipient parties and has been criticised by Rise Mzansi for its potential to influence policy. The IFP has acknowledged the harm caused by gambling but has urged a balanced approach to reform.

Legislative developments

The DA introduced a Remote Gambling Bill in 2024 aimed at shifting licence issuance away from the NGB to the provinces, placing time restrictions on advertising, and banning false or misleading advertising, among others.

Listen/read: Regulators move to curb illegal online gambling and rampant ads

The bill is still under discussion but has been criticised as being too soft by those who would like to see a total ban on advertising – and on online gambling altogether.

GGR reported by legal operators comes to more than R74 billion a year and is growing at more than 25% a year. Online gambling has exploded since Covid-19 and shows no signs of slowing.

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