South Africa Proposes 20 Percent National Online Gambling Tax
South Africa’s National Treasury released a plan for a new 20% tax on gross gambling revenue from online betting and interactive games. The proposal published in a 24-page discussion paper titled “The Case for a National Online Gambling Tax” would add the levy on top of existing provincial taxes of 6-9%. Total tax load for operators would reach between 26% and 29%.
Rapid Market Growth Drives Policy Review
Total bets placed in 2024/25 reached $78.9 billion, a rise of 31.3% in one year. Online platforms now handle most sports betting activity. The share of adults who gamble climbed from 30.6% in 2017 to 65.7% in 2023.
Online betting alone produced $2.34 billion of the country’s total betting revenue of $2.73 billion in 2024/25 financial year. Treasury officials claim the primary goal is to protect people, not to generate revenue. The paper states the main objective of the reform would not be to raise further revenue, but rather to discourage problem and pathological gambling.
Treatment Programs Target Problem Gambling
The fiscal authority projects the new tax could bring in more than $526 million annually. Extra funds would help pay for treatment and prevention programs. South Africa currently spends $2.1 million annually on problem gambling treatment through the National Responsible Gambling Programme.
The NRGP operates a 24/7 helpline and reported a 623% surge in calls concerning problem gambling in the past year. Interactive casino-style games remain illegal under the 2004 National Gambling Act. A 2008 amendment that would have legalized and regulated them has never been put into force.
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