South Africa tops online gambling participation ranking, Ghana and Nigeria make top 10
GWI’s findings measure visits to gambling and betting websites and apps rather than confirmed bets, money wagered or revenue earned by operators.
Key takeaways:
- South Africa ranked first among 48 markets for online gambling participation in GWI’s Digital 2026 Global Overview Report, with 32.3 per cent of internet users aged 16 and older visiting a gambling or betting website or app in the previous month.
- Ghana ranked fifth at 21.5 per cent and Nigeria shared 10th place with Australia at 18 per cent, putting three African countries in the top 10, while Kenya ranked 13th at 16 per cent.
- GWI’s ranking measures visits to gambling and betting websites and apps, not actual betting activity, gambling expenditure or operator revenue, and it does not show whether respondents placed bets, checked odds or used other features.
South Africa.- South Africa has emerged as the world’s leading country for online gambling participation, according to data from market research company GWI published in the Digital 2026 Global Overview Report. The country ranked first among 48 markets, with 32.3 per cent of internet users aged 16 and older reporting that they had visited a gambling or betting website or app in the previous month. Ghana ranked fifth globally at 21.5 per cent, while Nigeria shared 10th place with Australia at 18 per cent.
The figures put the three African countries among the world’s 10 highest-ranked markets for monthly online gambling participation, ahead of several established gambling markets, including the UK at 19.6 per cent and the US at 10.2 per cent. Kenya was the other African country among the top 15 markets, ranking 13th, with 16 per cent of internet users reporting monthly visits to online gambling platforms.
South Africa’s position in the ranking coincides with substantial growth in its regulated gambling industry, particularly sports betting and online wagering. The South African Reserve Bank reported in its March 2026 Quarterly Bulletin that online betting generated R44bn in gross gambling revenue (GGR) in the 2024/25 financial year, compared with R29bn a year earlier. Online betting accounted for 85.5 per cent of the country’s total betting revenue during the period.
In Ghana and Nigeria, separate GeoPoll research also found high levels of betting activity. Its 2026 survey showed that 60 per cent of respondents in Ghana and 54 per cent in Nigeria had placed a bet in the previous 12 months, although the figures measure annual betting activity rather than monthly visits to online gambling platforms.
GWI’s ranking measures the share of internet users aged 16 and older who visited an online gambling or betting website or app during the month before the survey. However, it does not measure actual betting activity, gambling expenditure or operator revenue.
The distinction matters because high participation does not necessarily translate into the largest gambling market by revenue. For example, Ghana ranked joint fifth, at 21.5 per cent, ahead of Nigeria at 18 per cent, which placed joint 10th. Yet H2 Gambling Capitall estimates put Nigeria’s online gambling gross win at US$1.1bn in 2025, compared with US$883.3m in Ghana. The GWI survey also does not establish whether respondents visited these platforms to place bets, check odds or use other features.
