South Africa online gambling

[Curious T]

I agree that the government need to regulate gambling, but what would the government do to stop gambling addiction? Even countries that regulate gambling have a lot of gambling addicts. I think the only thin government can really do is create awareness about gambling addiction and how people can get addicted to and also how to avoid it. They can't stop people from gambling. Banning gambling completely will reduce it, but it won't stop it. There are certain things that people need to take responsibility for. It is the responsibility of every person to make sure they don't get addicted to gambling. There is only so much the government can do for you. Adults should be able to take accountability for their actions.

[Agbamoni]

South Africa is not the first country to have their citizens addicted to gambling. All other countries in Africa are addicted to gambling.

However, global gambling statistics research shows that South Africa ranks 1st in gambling participation, which means there is a higher likelihood of South Africa having the highest number of addicted gamblers.

[Ever-young]

The rate of gambling in some nations is very chronic and the fact that the government are soo unbothered is disappointing. Yes i know that in some countries where regulations are made, it may not stop addiction but the little that helps counts.

Personally, I can’t even tell about the mental stability of that lady, but I can tell from what I see that that lady it going through financial  constraints resulting from the desperation to make quick money, at this point, she doesn’t like what is going  on, she’s tired but just cannot stop. And I believe that there are still many individuals like this, we are just seeing a viral video.

I really hope their leaders look into this issue as it is health related, and find a way to reduce the gambling rate, because while it is making millions of profits, it is doing more harm. The idea of gambling is the fun but at this point, this is a massive shift and it’s alarming. Just like advocates are made for drugs, excessive gambling should also be monitored, and aswell controlled.

[goldkingcoiner]

South Africa is not the first country to have their citizens addicted to gambling. All other countries in Africa are addicted to gambling.

However, global gambling statistics research shows that South Africa ranks 1st in gambling participation, which means there is a higher likelihood of South Africa having the highest number of addicted gamblers.

I think there are many countries that are not doing well with the gambling problems of the population. Most of it comes down to an incompetent or corrupt government which lets itself get bribed into making gambling a lucrative business and the gamblers just suckers without much rights.

And if we think deeper about it then we can attribute the entire problem of wanting to gamble and then developing a gambling addiction as part of human nature. Not anyone's favorite part but a part nonetheless...

[yhiaali3]

I liked the term “cyber gambling epidemic” in South Africa, which is indeed a very serious epidemic because if it spreads in society, it becomes similar to a disease epidemic that causes great corruption in society.

I believe that the environment conducive to the spread of the gambling epidemic is the poor environment, where people dream of improving their situation through gambling, but unfortunately the opposite happens, and instead of their situation improving, it gets worse, and corrupt governments do nothing.

[Outhue]

From this NEWS there is an online gambling pandemic in .

I think gambling should be fun, but when a mother from a poor or low middle class home want to take Bitcoin as a source of income it is easy to become addicted and be at a loss. What that should be fun, recreational is being abused with costly effects.

Bitcoin. Is not the problem or you meant to type gambling? If this mother from low class choose to Buy Bitcoin and hold instead of gambling her money away she will still have her Bitcoin right now and possibly make a lot gains on it by December of this year into January of next year.

Listening to that video I feel like something is going on with those casinos, maybe they are not regulated, because how can someone keep using her salary to gamble and she never won anything? Over and over again? Another part of me blamed her too, I thought winning draws you closer to gambling than losing? Once the loss start getting out of control.why can't she quit? Addiction when winning is crazier than when losing.

[Somegory]

The woman has realised that she f up so badly, she kept repeating the "far fetched dream" I hate been in such position, it's draining and addicting at the same time.

My sister's husband had problem with his business and one bad luck friend came to him and told him about a gold field, they will need a lot of digging to get to the golds in the ground and this was where everything changed.

He spent all his money on the gold field for months only to find out that there is no gold in the ground, it affected his family so much that their kids can't go to school anymore, becareful with far fetched dream, you can get brainwashed easily.

[Don Pedro Dinero]

I liked the term “cyber gambling epidemic” in South Africa, which is indeed a very serious epidemic because if it spreads in society, it becomes similar to a disease epidemic that causes great corruption in society.

I believe that the environment conducive to the spread of the gambling epidemic is the poor environment, where people dream of improving their situation through gambling, but unfortunately the opposite happens, and instead of their situation improving, it gets worse, and corrupt governments do nothing.

It usually happens exactly like that. It is the poorest sections of society who gamble the most. It is a well-known phenomenon, and no one knows this better than the bookmakers. In doing so, the poor are desperately seeking a way out of their situation, only to end up, as you say, in an even worse situation. Sometimes much worse.

[Die_empty]

I liked the term “cyber gambling epidemic” in South Africa, which is indeed a very serious epidemic because if it spreads in society, it becomes similar to a disease epidemic that causes great corruption in society.

I believe that the environment conducive to the spread of the gambling epidemic is the poor environment, where people dream of improving their situation through gambling, but unfortunately the opposite happens, and instead of their situation improving, it gets worse, and corrupt governments do nothing.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of illicit drug use globally. It is common for people to gamble to fund their drug use. This might have also contributed to the high rate of gambling addiction.

Bitcoin. Is not the problem or you meant to type gambling? If this mother from low class choose to Buy Bitcoin and hold instead of gambling her money away she will still have her Bitcoin right now and possibly make a lot gains on it by December of this year into January of next year.

Listening to that video I feel like something is going on with those casinos, maybe they are not regulated, because how can someone keep using her salary to gamble and she never won anything? Over and over again? Another part of me blamed her too, I thought winning draws you closer to gambling than losing? Once the loss start getting out of control.why can't she quit? Addiction when winning is crazier than when losing.

I guess it was an error; the OP meant "gambling".

Gambling outcomes are highly unpredictable. You might gamble for a month and not have any profit. I have gambled for about six months and had so many losses that I had to take a break. So it is possible that the casino is legit, but she is not lucky. She is addicted and needs to be guided on how to overcome it.

[salad daging]

I think it's the government that has to act now. Although gambling is not really bad because it's up to people whether they gamble responsibly or not, but for a country where unemployment is quite high, with a reported 8.5 million unemployed in the second quarter of 2026, these people might see gambling as a solution to their financial problems.

IMO, gambling is supposed to be for entertainment while accepting that losing is part of it, so making it easily accessible to people who are already struggling financially could really create a bigger problem.

They need to act now.

Do not know how the development of gambling there, but according to reports only online sports betting is allowed and licensed while other games are completely illegal, maybe this is what the gap in society has become addicted to, in general not being strict.

Their government also gets high taxes, I think this is the reason why gambling is mushrooming there, no matter how strict it is, there will certainly be a social impact on the people especially if they do not control themselves well.

His usual lower middle class people addicted to gambling that his early just want to change their fortunes in online casinos.
- https://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/651123-online-gambling-banned-in-south-africa-2.html

[Byebyebtc]

And if the South African government should look for ways to reduce addiction and chaos that gambling has caused,  people will still complain and say why would the government do this, why would the government do that, like in the case of Kazakhstan and other Nations that they have post to this forum complaining that the measures government took doesn't make any sense

The truth is that there could be no other better way, this addictions requires a lot even if it may seems strict to people.
So the thing is that tomorrow if the government should take actions to reduce these gambling harm, no one should come complain again that government did this or did that.

[Odusko]

...there is an online gambling pandemic in South Africa and it is as bad as you can imagine.

Due to this raging pandemic South Africans are calling for better regulations to online gambling, South Africans are complaining of being addicted to online gambling and it is affecting them.

This is what the government of South Africa wanted his citizens to be and they are doing well for him. He sponsored it citizens to chase out the foreigners who were doing businesses in South Africa and South Africa indigene were employed in those shops, companies and business outlets and now that those businesses have closed down, there is no source of income therefore gambling becomes the alternative for them.

South Africans will take gambling as a means of income since there is no other work for them to do again. The Zulu conflict of chasing the foreigners is the caused of the increase of the gambling addiction.

In as much as I can attest to the fact that South Africa citizens and somehow their government have not been fair to foreign companies and individuals most especially those from other African countries like Ghana Nigeria etc, forcing them to close down their establishment or sack all foreigners and employees from neighbors countries, or be forced to close down.

Even with all of that, we can not say that crypto regulations and gambling regulations shouldn't be pursued by the government of South Africa at the moment just because of the negative treatment foreign companies get in that country, their are doing well with the gambling policy implementations.

[henmark]

Watching the video and listening to the first woman it is clear that she gamblers irresponsibly, doesn't have any control of her emotions and I wonder if she does this in the right frame of mind.

I think gambling should be fun, but when a mother from a poor or low middle class home want to take Bitcoin as a source of income it is easy to become addicted and be at a loss. What that should be fun, recreational is being abused with costly effects.

While the South African government looks into regulations they should also touch on players gambling responsibly and importantly no under age gambling.

Even though it's not easy to make people understand, we all know that problem is not gambling or a lack of regulations but it is the mindset of people towards gambling itself. A person who thinks of gambling as a way to make money will obviously get the worst out of it because with this mindset, you will be trying to make profits with whatever amount you have, and when you lose, you can't digest it because you were considering that amount as your capital as we do in investments and you now want to recover the money you've lost, and we all know very well how that turns out.

People need to change their mindset towards gambling, but this should be done before they get involved. If someone starts gambling with such a mindset and then gets addicted, then it becomes very difficult for them to back off and stop gambling all of a sudden, but that is not the end, I think an addicted gambler can be helped if their loved ones or people around them step up and help them get rid of their addiction.

However, if even the people around them are also involved, then I guess there is very little hope that they will be able to get out of their addiction.

[Kelward]

The internet and smart phones brought a lot of innovations and convenience, virtual communications and the rest but unfortunately it has exposed us to a number of addictions, social media and gambling have made a lot of people to become addicted to their phones. Gambling addiction is increasing because of easy accessibility from anywhere that you can connect to the internet, a lot of people wants to get rich quick and they see gambling as a gateway to achieve their dreams and this is what is happening in South Africa, according to the story in the OP. It is right that their government is taking a proactive step now to address the increasing gambling addiction in their country, they should come up with achievable regulations to help drastically to reduce gambling addiction.

[Futurexxx]

South Africa is not the first country to have their citizens addicted to gambling. All other countries in Africa are addicted to gambling.

Not just in Africa bro, everywhere around the world, except those Muslim countries where gambling are forbidden.

However, global gambling statistics research shows that South Africa ranks 1st in gambling participation, which means there is a higher likelihood of South Africa having the highest number of addicted gamblers.

In Africa the south Africans are popularly known to be very lazy, so am not that surprised that they are getting addicted to gambling, because such type of persons will see gambling as an easy way to make money, since they wouldn't have to work for it, but trying to earn a living from gambling is one of the easiest part to addiction, because you will gamble too frequently, than you ought to.

[Africolo]

Based on my research, Souther Africa has a public-private foundation called the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation (SARGF) and a National Responsible Gambling Programme, through the office of the government and national gambling regulation, they sponsored free treatment and counselling, a confidential 24/7 helpline (toll-free) and free clinical treatment for all problem gambling patients in that country.

There are also news like the ones below;

National Gambling Board warns against gambling as a financial solution

South Africa forms task team to tackle youth problem gambling

Despite all that is being done by the government and gambling regulation, every individual is still bent on gambling because they want to make extra income, looks like the main cause of the problem in stinging poverty. But one thing rings in my head, you can take away poverty from a man but you can not take away his decision to continue gambling.

We have discussed several solutions to problem gambling here on the forum, and I made the point that an addicted gambler will never change unless they decide to change themselves. You can provide all the support, restrictions, and solutions available, but if the person isn't willing to take that first step, even the best interventions will not work on them. You can help someone find a way out of gambling addiction, but you cannot make that decision for the person.

I personally agree with you on your assertions on this topic because it has to do with personal decisions to be made by the gambler and not necessarily the whole support and attention giving to the gambler by the government but every individual needs to take responsibility on how he or she bets.

So it won't be easy for people to stay regulated to the rules of not getting addicted because of greed, and most importantly if the person involved or who is addicted doesn't decide on his own personal to control his betting activities no one can actually stop he or she because that decision has to come from the individual first, he must first admit that he is addicted and wants to quit or control on how he bets so even the government will find it difficult to force gambling to bend to their regulatory rules.

[sotelorene]

It usually happens exactly like that. It is the poorest sections of society who gamble the most. It is a well-known phenomenon, and no one knows this better than the bookmakers. In doing so, the poor are desperately seeking a way out of their situation, only to end up, as you say, in an even worse situation. Sometimes much worse.

It is only ignorant that will make someone to channel their desperation into gambling because a wise person can never do such because they understand and know what will be the consequences of their action later that is if things doesn't go as they think or hope, and it is not guarantee that they will make it from gambling. I always tell people that, when it comes to gambling the game doesn't care about your feelings, emotions etc and it doesn't also care if you are a poor man or woman looking for greener pasture so it is very wrong to think or hope gambling will change one's life that is being delusional even though it can happen.

[BitBakerr1]

I liked the term “cyber gambling epidemic” in South Africa, which is indeed a very serious epidemic because if it spreads in society, it becomes similar to a disease epidemic that causes great corruption in society.

I believe that the environment conducive to the spread of the gambling epidemic is the poor environment, where people dream of improving their situation through gambling, but unfortunately the opposite happens, and instead of their situation improving, it gets worse, and corrupt governments do nothing.

It usually happens exactly like that. It is the poorest sections of society who gamble the most. It is a well-known phenomenon, and no one knows this better than the bookmakers.

You are wrong, when I saw your post, I decided to do some research about the countries that gambles the most and I discovered that it is even the developed and richer countries that do more of gambling than the under developed and poor countries.
I’m going to put out some link so you can see for yourself or you can also do more research by yourself.
This are the link to sites that’s proof what I’m saying.

Where Do People Gamble The Most? Top 10 Countries According To CasinoTopsOnline.com

Countries That Gamble The Most

Countries With the Highest Online Gambling Rates

[Mayor of ogba]

Seems their government over there pay less attention to matters like this. Other countries have already pulled the weight. I see no reason why you would wait until your citizens are biting their fingers before you act. As of now, I don't think the government have even made any move at all.

Let's be honest with ourselves. There is so much regulations can do. And it can't eliminate behaviours like this. But it has proven to reduce the financial impact on families and how it affects the society.

It's best the government steps in and put in some of those regulations that will help the citizens.

Not only South Africa government that pay less attention how its citizens are easily getting addicted to gambling even Ghana government pay less attention too, because few weeks ago a Ghanaian commited suicide after losing money in gambling. I think it's high time government in African countries should regulate online gambling so that there will be players protection which will help gamblers gamble responsibly. Online gambling sites doesn't care if gambler lose all their money to them they always feel happy when gamblers lose because that's when they are making money, so gamblers shouldn't see gambling as a way of not getting rich so that they won't gamble with what they can't afford to lose.

[Yeesha]

Seems their government over there pay less attention to matters like this. Other countries have already pulled the weight. I see no reason why you would wait until your citizens are biting their fingers before you act. As of now, I don't think the government have even made any move at all.

Let's be honest with ourselves. There is so much regulations can do. And it can't eliminate behaviours like this. But it has proven to reduce the financial impact on families and how it affects the society.

It's best the government steps in and put in some of those regulations that will help the citizens.

The government overlook what can definitely bring a huge or great harm to his citizens. Gambling could have great effects on societies, that this particular one, let's take it for instance, because the people believe they could make great wins through gambling. Now that majority of them are already addicted to it, the government will have several cases to solve. It is never too late for the government to intervene, at least to prevent the younger generation from being affected. Because I knew it's going to be impossible or difficult for some addict to quit and come back to their normal senses. The government should not turn a blind eye or ignore this problems because they are not his family. Because this will definitely find a way to affect the government in one way or the other, in as much as they are citizens of that country.