Publication date: 23 Sep 2024
In the Republic of South Africa (RSA), legalized gambling has already proven its benefits. There is a loyal betting and gambling regulation, as well as a huge audience ready to play and bet! Let’s understand the specifics of GEO South Africa and how to promote gambling and betting in the current conditions?
How is gambling regulated in South Africa?
The National Gambling Act in the Republic of South Africa was adopted in 2004, the final version of the document appeared in 2008.
According to this law, the following types of gambling are allowed in South Africa
- All casino games (bingo, poker, roulette, baccarat, slots, etc.);
- Sports betting (including horse racing);
- Lottery.
The only types of gambling that are allowed to operate online in RSA are sports betting and horse racing betting sites.
What types of gambling are permitted in South Africa?
* The South African Lottery is the most popular form of gambling in South Africa. According to statistics, more than 90% of the population regularly buys lottery tickets.
The main regulatory body in South Africa is the National Gambling Board (NGB) of South Africa. The website https://ngb.org.za/ states that the board is responsible for the control of bingo, casinos, limited payout machines (LPM) and sports betting (including horse racing).
Each province in South Africa has its own Gambling Board. To conduct gaming activities (to open a land-based casino or sports betting shop), you must obtain a license. The validity of the land-based license is limited to the boundaries of the province.
- In addition, each municipality sets its own tax rate depending on the revenue of the gambling establishment.
Online operation (opening a betting site) also requires a license. However, a licensed betting site has the right to operate and provide services throughout RSA. The Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board (WCGRB) is the most popular, with an application fee of only €750.
“Regulation in South Africa has been around for a long time. The current Betting Act was signed into law in 1996, and the latest version was passed in 2004 and has not changed much since then. However, the legislation itself, although similar to other European regulations, is quite loyal to both players and operators. Taking into account the factor of South Africa’s economic growth and stable inflation in the corridor of 5-6%. We can confidently say that South Africa is an actively growing economy and intensively developing market, including the online betting market. In conclusion, operating under a license in South Africa is the best choice. Offshore competitors are doing much worse on GEO South Africa,” Yesplay Affiliates representative Mark told 3SNET.
According to Blask and NEXT.io’s analysis for the first half of 2024, the most popular brands in South Africa are:
- Betway: 42.9%;
- Hollywoodbets: 40.2%;
- Lotto Star: 9%;
- Supabets: 1.5%;
- Easy Bet: 1%.
Criminal penalties should be imposed for opening and maintaining casino websites. Individuals, Internet service providers and banks that process payments for online gamblers, and the media can be held liable. Organizing illegal gambling in South Africa can result in a fine of 10 million South African Rand (approximately $573,000) or 10 years in prison (or both).
How are illegal casino sites blocked in South Africa?
There is little information on how illegal gambling sites are controlled in South Africa, who blocks them and how, and whether the system of penalties actually works. The lack of data in this situation most likely means that the policy to combat illegal gambling only exists on paper.
As Yesplay Affiliates representative Mark told 3INFO: “There are no blocks as such in South Africa for either ‘white’ or offshore operators. The only difference is that the operators coming here are not fully aware of the market and audience preferences. Offshore operators have a market share within the margin of error and do not deserve the attention of the regulator”.
How much money is generated by South African gambling?
The regulator, the country’s National Gambling Board, reports that gross gaming revenue (GGR) at the end of 2023 was $2602 billion.
According to Blask and NEXT.io’s analysis for H1 2024, South Africa’s expected gross gaming revenue (eGGR) was $516 million. This is an increase of 26.8% compared to the same period last year.
The same experts also estimated eFTD (expected first deposits: number of new players making their first deposit). In the first half of the year, the total was $9.9 million, 15.1% more than last year.
“Players pay taxes on their winnings, and the gaming tax for operators is disproportionately lower than in other countries. Compared to the recent gaming legislation in Brazil, South Africa is a very profitable and promising market. It will allow both the operator and the affiliate to make money,” explains Yesplay Affiliates.
How to promote online casinos and bookmakers in South Africa?
“All advertising channels are officially open and promotion is virtually unlimited” – a brief expert opinion from Yesplay Affiliates.
How to attract a South African audience to online bookmakers and casinos?
The Republic of South Africa (South Africa or RSA) is a country in Southern Africa with a population of over 55 million people.
- Population: approximately 80% are dark skinned, 8% are white skinned, there are also mulattoes (approximately 9%) and Asians (approximately 3%).
- Major cities: the capital, Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, Gebeha, Soweto.
- Religion: Christians (77%), atheists (15%), Muslims (1%).
- The country is divided territorially into 9 provinces, each of which has local self-government but is subject to national legislation.
- Besides English, 10 languages are official. In each of these languages, the country has its own name – Afrikaans, Sesotho, Tswana, etc. Part of the black population calls their country Azania. The forbidden language Tsotsitaal (translated as “thieves’ language”, also called Iskamto Creole) is very popular among black youth.
- The official currency is the South African Rand. As of September 2024, 1 Rand = 0.6 US Dollars = 0.5 Euros.
- The country has a high unemployment rate (40% of the population) and a high crime rate.
Africa, including South Africa, has the youngest population in the world. The combination of the youthfulness of the population and the unemployment rate results in the younger generation viewing sports betting as a way to make money and doing it on a regular basis.
From the SOFTWISS report published in the summer of 2024, the number of women gambling in South Africa has doubled since 2021. They have a 40% market share.
“The audience in South Africa is a classic indicator of a Tier-3 country: low average check, large number of citizens. Our promotion focus should be on big cities. The high unemployment rate is due to the high proportion of rural population, but they should not be discarded either, since technology is developing and penetrating all corners of the world. As for age and gender… All genders, ages and social groups are betting. I’ve seen this first hand,” said Mark of Yesplay Affiliates.
What sports are popular in South Africa?
According to SOFTWISS data for summer 2024, football remains the most popular betting sport, followed by horse racing and cricket.
As well, among the most popular sports in South Africa is rugby. The national rugby team has been world champion several times and won international competitions.
Among the more “exotic” sports there are many fans of different kinds of basketball: netball (a game exclusively for women) and ringball (basketball with special rules).
South Africa often hosts major international competitions that attract large numbers of fans. Local sporting events also attract many participants and fans:
- A bicycle race is held every year;
- The world’s largest super marathon (about 90km) The Comrades through the KwaZulu-Natal province.
A list of the most popular sporting events in South Africa from Yesplay Affiliates:
- Football: PSL – South African Premiership (Football);
- Africa Cup of Nations (Football);
- 2026 World Cup AFCON Qualifiers (Football);
- Rugby Union (Rugby);
- MTN8 (Soccer);
- Cricket (T20) (yes, yes, cricket is the second most popular sport in South Africa after soccer!)
The dates of the most important sporting events can be conveniently followed in the 3SNET Sporting Events Calendar!
What casino games are popular with South Africans?
South African casinos offer a full range of traditional card games. However, it is not uncommon for local players to play local games:
- klawerjas – a game with Dutch roots where the main objective is to get the optimal number of bribes;
- kalookie – a game where the goal is to get certain combinations;
- thuni (thunee) – especially popular among Asians, where the goal is to score a certain number of points.
Besides, the English game Cribbage and the German game with bribes Skat, card game with combinations Canasta and its variant Samba, competitive solitaire Spite and Malice, game on loss of all cards Shithead are also popular among South African players.
Interesting fact from Yesplay Affiliates: “Slots are relatively new to the South African market and until recently the direct mention of the word ‘slots’ was prohibited. Therefore, on the sites of licensed bookmakers you can find such inventions as Spina Zonke, Vegas games and others. Habanero is the most popular game provider, while the iconic machine is Hot Hot Fruit. Now Aviator by Spribe and Pragmatic Play is actively gaining popularity. Therefore, all new games should not be written off, and joint efforts of marketers should promote them to the masses”.
What are the payment methods available in South Africa?
There are no specific restrictions on making payments and deposits in South Africa.
UnionPay, MasterCard, Visa credit cards are available.
PayPal, MoneyGram, WorldRemit, Azimo, Wise, Xoom platforms work.
The most popular mobile operators accepting online payments are Vodacom, CellC, MTN.
There are local payment systems that are very popular with the local population: OZOW, ZAPPER, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for all local banks, Wallet Doc and Peach Payments, Capitec Pay, SnapScan, KAZANG Connect.
Interestingly, South Africa has a popular “voucher” payment system. You can buy a voucher at various networks of land-based stores, and then enter the pin code when making a deposit. Some of the most popular are 1Voucher, OTT Voucher, Blu Voucher and 1FORYOU.
According to Triple A’s May 2024 data, South Africa is one of the world’s leaders in terms of population holding cryptocurrencies. Out of the top 30 countries, South Africa ranks 14th with 12.4% (of the population). You can pay for gambling using ZAPPER, aCoin.
Traffic Sources for Online Casinos and Bookmakers in South Africa
The service Similarweb.com presented data on the most visited sites by South Africans for the summer of 2024.
- Among the search engines, google.com and google.co.za, bing.com are leading. Music.youtube.com and ikeja.co.za are also in the top five.
- Among social networking sites, facebook.com, instagram.com and TikTok are popular. Whatsapp and Linkedin.com are also in the top 5 in terms of traffic. (Facebook and Instagram are considered extremist and are banned in Russia).
- South Africa’s gambling (casino and sports betting) websites are as follows: hollywoodbets.net, betway.co.za, playabets and YesPlay.
According to StatCounter data for August 2024, the most popular in South Africa are:
- Social media: Facebook – 65.69%, Pinterest – 11.88%, Instagram – 10.13%, Twitter – 4.77%, YouTube – 4.47%, Linkedin – 1.68%;
- Search engines: Google – 94.81%, Bing – 4.43%;
- Browsers: Chrome – 72.68%, Safari 10.91%, Samsung Internet – 8.11%, Opera 3.97%.
73% of users use mobile devices, 27% – desktop. The most popular devices are Samsung (51.3%!), Apple (15.8%), Huawei (12.4%), Xiaomi (3.95%), Oppo (3.58%), Honor (3.27%). Logically, among the OS prevails Android (61.24%), Windows (19.7%) and iOS (11.72%).
Yesplay Affiliates representative Mark also shared his data: “Of course, organic search has always broken all records and we are ready to take it in unlimited quantities – it is our priority. However, 60 to 80% of users are in the mobile segment, so sources that target mobile users. ASO, UAC – we will gladly consider them.
The growth of the online gaming market in South Africa presents new opportunities. Brands must successfully navigate the changing dynamics and effectively capitalize on the emerging opportunities. 3SNET offers advertisers who are waiting for traffic to South Africa! And of course, our main bonus is 3SNET’s exclusive Bonanza, Aviator and SkyWard YesPlay landing pages!
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