Rise Mzansi Chief Organiser voices support for national online gambling tax
With little room to increase VAT or personal income tax, Gana argued that a gambling levy could provide an additional revenue source.
South Africa.- South African policy voices are increasingly backing the National Treasury’s draft proposal for an online gambling tax, as the country’s betting industry expands rapidly and regulatory concerns grow. In a recent engagement on Power FM, Rise Mzansi Chief Organiser Makashule Gana said gambling has become a socio-economic issue, with many South Africans betting not for entertainment but to cope with unemployment and poverty. He added that a national levy would be a practical response to the industry’s growth.
Gana urged finance minister Enoch Godongwana to consider including the proposed 20 per cent national tax on online betting gross gambling revenue (GGR) in the upcoming budget review. The levy would sit alongside provincial gambling taxes and could raise operators’ combined effective tax rate to as high as 29 per cent.
With little room to increase VAT or personal income tax, Gana argued that a gambling levy could provide an additional revenue source. Based on current estimates, the tax could generate more than R10bn (€500m) annually, although the Treasury has maintained that regulation and harm reduction remain its primary focus.
Industry data underscores the scale of the sector. According to the National Gambling Board, total gambling turnover reached R1.5trn (€79bn) in 2024/25, up from R1.43trn (€75.6bn) the previous year. Betting accounted for 75 per cent of activity, with 85.5 per cent of the R51.97bn (€2.6bn) in betting GGR generated by online platforms.
Beyond taxation, Gana also proposed regulatory changes, including mandatory income verification for customers, limits preventing deposits above declared earnings, temporary lockouts following rapid losses and a ban on using credit cards or overdraft facilities for gambling transactions. He also called for a centralised national database to monitor player spending across licensed platforms and for all online operators to hold national licences. In addition, he urged enforcement action against offshore operators serving South African players without local authorisation.
The public consultation period on the proposed national gambling tax is set to close this week, after which the Treasury is expected to evaluate submissions and determine the way forward.
