South Africa’s gambling industry is facing what could be one of the steepest tax increases in its history.
In November 2025, the National Treasury released a 24-page discussion paper proposing a new 20% online betting levy on gross gambling revenue. If implemented, the government says the measure would reduce problem gambling and more than double tax receipts from the sector, raising it from the current R4.8 billion to R10 billion annually.
While public consultations on the proposed tax ended in February 2026, a draft bill is expected in parliament later this year, with a final proposal possibly arriving in February 2027. But before lawmakers draft the bill, it is worth understanding what drove the Treasury to act in the first place.
A Market Growing Too Fast to Ignore
South Africa’s online gambling market has been expanding significantly over the past few years. In the 2024/2025 financial year, SA players wagered R1.5 trillion, a massive 31.3% boost from the previous year. The National Gambling Board of South Africa attributes this immense growth to faster internet speeds, increased smartphone betting, and round-the-clock availability.
What’s more, online gambling alone contributes nearly 75% of betting revenue, further confirming that this once-niche activity previously confined to physical establishments has decisively moved online.
Consumers’ preferences further reflect this shift, too. Players are increasingly seeking platforms that offer speedy ZAR-friendly transactions, generous bonuses, and a wide variety of games. Features that are visible across South African casinos you can find on Casino.com. This rapid rise in online gambling and betting activity has outpaced SA’s policy and regulatory frameworks.
The current tax model allows provincial gambling boards to license and tax online bookmakers and their land-based counterparts. Interactive gambling, which includes online casino-style games, remains illegal as the 2008 National Gambling Amendment Act, intended to regulate this niche, was never brought into operation.
As a result, South Africa’s patchy gambling regulations, alongside its varying provincial tax rates, have created an environment where legislation struggles to keep pace with the social costs of digital play.
The Proposed National Levy Targets Regulatory Gaps
With a patchwork of provincial oversight and outdated legislation, SA’s growing online gambling market has largely outrun the rules meant to govern it. However, the Treasury’s proposed levy seeks to change that.
The government recommends a 20% national tax on gross gambling revenue from both online betting and interactive gambling. Notably, the proposal extends to interactive gambling even where it remains technically illegal, a quiet recognition that the activity is happening regardless of its legal status.
On the compliance side, the discussion paper suggests that local online betting operators register with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) using the same information already submitted to provincial gambling boards for provincial tax purposes. That way, the government would effectively impose the proposed tax on gross gambling revenue generated by online betting and interactive gambling services specifically.
The proposal represents the most coordinated attempt yet to align South Africa’s fragmented online gambling tax framework with the realities of a market that has grown far beyond what existing legislation anticipated. But whether the numbers make sense for operators and consumers alike, that’s a separate question. One that the industry is already asking loudly.
“A Naked Revenue Grab,” Says Industry Critics
Betting firms and other stakeholders are lobbying hard against the proposed national tax, arguing that it would do more harm than good. Instead of curbing gambling, they say it would hand market share to unregulated operators, ultimately reducing the revenue the government intends to collect.
The Free Market Foundation, in particular, referred to the new national levy as a “naked revenue grab that threatens the very existence of the legal gambling market.” It also suggests the move would be unconstitutional. Under its detailed submission, the organization says introducing a national tax on an activity currently governed by provincial licensing frameworks amounts to a centralization of power. This, in turn, cuts against the country’s established division of regulatory authority.
The numbers add fuel to that argument. Licensed SA operators already pay VAT and provincial gambling levies ranging between 6% and 9%, depending on the province and vertical offered. Stacking the proposed 20% levy would effectively push the combined tax rate to 26%-29%. Such figures, according to critics, could make licensed operators uncompetitive against offshore platforms that pay no South African tax at all.
Research cited by the South Africa Bookmakers Association (SABA) CEO, Sean Coleman, reveals over 2,084 unregulated bookmakers targeted SA players in the 2024/2025 period alone. On top of that, 27% of South Africans interacted with illegal gambling platforms within the same period, allowing such operators to account for 62% of all online gambling activity in the country.
The Case for Regulation Over Revenue
The argument gaining traction among industry voices is simple: taxing a broken market does not fix it. The 27% of South Africans who gambled on illegal platforms in 2024/2025 were not deterred by existing rules, and raising compliance costs for licensed operators will not change that. If anything, it makes the unregulated alternative more attractive.
The more pressing problem, critics argue, is enforcement. Illegal platforms operate without any consumer protections. Bringing this activity into a properly regulated framework, rather than loading more tax onto operators who already comply, is the more logical starting point. Consequently, the question of revenue largely takes care of itself once the market is properly ordered.