South Africa’s gambling industry generated R47.2-billion in revenue in the past financial year, the highest amount ever recorded. This rocketing growth is being driven largely by online betting, which accounted for more than half the revenue, according to the National Gambling Board’s 2022/23 annual report.

When casinos closed down because of Covid-related lockdowns, gamblers turned to online gambling, with wagers made in just a couple of clicks on a computer or mobile device. In South Africa, about 80% of sports betting is done online.

Casino gambling, however, hasn’t quite recovered to pre-pandemic levels. In 2019/20, casinos were responsible for R18-billion of gambling revenue. When the pandemic hit that dropped to R9-billion. Last year, casino were still below pre-pandemic levels by about 6% at R17-billion.

More people have access to the internet and smartphones, which means punters no longer have to rely on physical outlets.