Steady Growth for South African Gambling Market
On Thursday last week, South Africa’s National Gambling Board (NGB) released its annual report covering the 2016/2017 financial year. This report gives a picture of the trend of the country’s gambling market. The recent report showed that the industry produced strong growth in global gaming revenue (GGR). This factor increased 3.8% when compared to the same period last year.
Some of the key results from the National Gambling Board were as follows:
• South Africa’s casinos contributed the highest amount of taxes and levies when compared with other sectors of the market. They contributed 66.4%.
• All in all, tax revenue decreased slightly by 1% to R2.7 billion in 2017.
• Revenue in the South African horse and sports betting industry increased significantly by 14.3%. According to the NGB, the gross gaming revenue “generated by bookmakers offering betting on sport increased by 22%.”
• Sporting events such as the 2016 European Football Championships contributed to the growth in South Africa’s sports betting market.
• Bingo was also a big contributor to the increase in South Africa’s gross gaming revenue, especially, according to the NGB, due to the “increase in operational bingo positions in North West and Eastern Cape”. All in all, bingo revenue increased by 36.6% in the financial year reported.
• A yearly increase of 14.1% was seen in Limited Payout Machines. This was due, mainly, to an increase in active limited payout machines in all of South Africa’s provinces. Analysts predict that more and more of these machines will be installed around the country due to their success.
• When it came to casinos, the total gross gaming revenue from South Africa’s brick and mortar gambling establishments dipped by 1.8%. “The slight decrease can, amongst others, be attributed to the decrease of operational positions in Gauteng, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State,” reads the report.
• South Africa’s casino industry is the largest contributor to the country’s gaming revenue, as shown by the 66.4% of the GGR generated over the year.
• Gauteng generated the highest amount of gross gaming revenue (41.1% share of the market.
