New Report on South African Gambling Released

A new report has been released regarding the state of the gambling market in South Africa. Entitled “The South African Gambling Industry in South Africa 2016”, the report was drawn up by Research and Markets, and contains important and up-to-date information about the industry.

The research covers the entire industry, from casino gambling to sports betting, LPMs (Limited Payout Machines), bingo and the National Lottery. It shows that the entire industry grossed gambling revenue of R26.3 billion. Out of this sum, the government benefitted from R2.8 billion levies and taxes.

Some of the points from the research shows:

• There are currently six casino operators in the market, the three main ones being Tsogo Sun, Sun International and Peermont Global.
• The market includes 400 South African bookmaker outlets.
• There are 11,235 active LPMs across the country.
• Just under 25,500 people are employed in South African casinos.
• The industry indirectly supports over 64,000 jobs, including non-gambling services such as hotels at casinos.

The South African gambling industry is currently regulated by nine provincial regulators. They are responsible for issuing licenses to bookmakers, casinos and LPMs. Governing these regulators is the National Gambling Board and the South African Department of Trade and Industry.

An interesting note in the report showed that despite tough gambling regulations and fines of up to R10 million and/or 10 years in jail, there doesn’t seem to be a slowdown in what is perceived as illegal gambling activities, whether they be at non-licensed venues or at online casinos. In fact, the government lost out on R125 million in gambling taxes and levies due to online gambling in 2015.

Around R358 billion was bet during the financial period covering 2015/2016.

In the latest report, 16 gambling companies were profiled, including those in the sports betting segment and top casino operators such as Sun International, Emerald Safari Resort, Phumelela Gaming and Leisure, Grand Parade Investments, Ithuba Holdings (South African Lottery operators) and many more.

The report covers topics such as the size of the South African gambling industry, the state of the industry (local, corporate actions, regulations, enterprise development and social economic development), influencing factors, competition, a SWOT analysis and outlook for the future.