People in South Africa wagered more than R1-trillion in the 2023/24 financial year.

Of the nine provinces, Mpumalanga recorded the highest gambling spend at R359.3-billion, followed closely by the Western Cape at R353.2-billion. Gauteng trailed at R173.7-billion.

In Mpumalanga and the Western Cape, betting is the clear favourite, accounting for 96% and 84% of gambling spend respectively. In contrast, Gauteng remains a stronghold for casinos, where 77% of its gambling turnover was recorded. Casinos also led in KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the Eastern Cape.

Bingo, while a smaller slice of the pie nationally, is relatively popular in the North West and Eastern Cape, where it contributes around a quarter of gambling turnover.

Nationally, betting now far outpaces other forms of gambling, generating a turnover of R761-billion – more than double that of casinos, which brought in R297-billion.

All this activity contributed R4.8-billion to government revenue through taxes and levies in the 2023/24 financial year.