South Africa’s National Gambling Board has warned people aged 25 to 34 not to treat gambling as a way to supplement income. The warning is based on research showing that young adults are heavily represented across betting and casino play, and that they make up 55% of identified problem gamblers.
As covered in July, the North West Gambling Board had already been taking a similar safe-gambling message into communities. A related report on 14 August said 77% of respondents aged 25 to 34 had taken part in gambling, underlining how concentrated participation is in that age band.
In the latest study, 53% of online sports betting participants were aged 25 to 34, along with 53% of retail sports betting participants and 49% of casino participants. Dukwana cautioned against drawing a straight line from a single gambling mode to problem gambling in that group because the study does not break the figures down that way. Among problem gamblers generally, the preferred modes were lucky draws at 56%, the National Lottery at 55% and sports betting at 50%.
The board also said gambling often intersects with household finances. It found that 54% of gamblers used winnings to buy basic household necessities and 43% used them to pay debts or bills, while Dukwana said the main reasons people gamble were the chance of a large win and the need for extra income. He said gambling should never be treated as a substitute for sustainable employment or income, and that financially vulnerable people should not see it as a way out of hardship.
The warning landed as Statistics South Africa said unemployment rose to 33.6% in the second quarter, from 32.7% in the first, with about 8.5 million people unemployed and 16.7 million employed. Earlier reporting on 14 August said the board was urging households to protect their finances and avoid relying on gambling for income as economic pressure mounted, while Dukwana said gambling is a regulated form of entertainment and not a remedy for unemployment.
The board also pointed to the way gambling has moved onto phones. It said 92% of online gamblers used a cellphone, and that smartphones and digital platforms have changed access by making gambling more continuous and convenient. Dukwana warned against blaming smartphones alone, but said easier access, convenience and advertising reduce practical barriers and make consumer protection more important.
The broader numbers point in the same direction. The board said betting gross gambling revenue rose from about R35.9 billion in 2023/24 to R52 billion in 2024/25, a 44.7% increase, and now accounts for 69.8% of total gambling GGR, compared with 22.3% for casinos. It said the latest study put overall gambling participation at 65.7%, up from 30.6% in 2017.
The board said the 2017 and 2023 findings should be treated carefully because the methods differed. The 2023 study combined online and face-to-face surveys, while the 2017 research relied mainly on face-to-face interviews with some online interviews; the newer report said anonymous online surveys can surface behaviour people may not disclose in person.
The latest study classified 31% of gamblers as problem gamblers and 29% as moderate-risk gamblers. The South African Responsible Gambling Foundation runs the National Responsible Gambling Programme as a public-private partnership with the board, provincial licensing authorities and the industry, funded by voluntary contributions pegged at 0.1% of GGR. People in trouble can ask to exclude themselves from gambling while they get help through the programme.
