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South Africa’s gambling industry is drawing fresh heat after new parliamentary figures showed just how many licenses are being approved each year.
A written reply to Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana revealed that 3,135 licences were issued in the 2024/2025 financial year, following 3,174 the year before and 3,186 in 2022/2023. The high number has raised questions about whether oversight can go hand in hand with the industry’s rapid growth.
Most of the approvals went to limited payout machine sites and bookmakers, which remain the biggest contributors to the sector’s growth.
Licensing remains in the hands of provincial gambling boards, and the latest numbers show how active some regions have become. Gauteng issued 753 licences in 2024/2025, while KwaZulu‑Natal and the Western Cape followed with 596 and 549.
The reply was sent in response to Gana’s letter to Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, where he raised concerns about the rapid rise of bookmakers and how South Africa’s market compares with other countries.
The Police suggest that oversight might be inadequate
Questions are being raised about whether provincial boards have the tools to enforce rules on consumer protection, responsible gambling and financial reporting in a consistent way. The concern is that oversight varies from one province to another, with some boards having far more capacity than others.
A separate reply from the Police Minister to Rise Mzansi MP Songezo Zibi has added to those worries.
The police recorded 32,938 illegal gambling cases over the past five financial years, and almost all of them came from land‑based operations. Only 36 online cases were logged in the same period, leading to 39 arrests and 22 convictions.
The Minister explained that online investigations are harder to pursue because websites can appear and disappear quickly, and some cases have collapsed after disputes over search warrants.
These gaps have pushed lawmakers to call for stronger coordination between national and provincial bodies. Ideas on the table include improving how regulators share information, tightening post‑licensing checks and reviewing the current framework to make sure enforcement keeps up with the pace of licensing.
Source: Focus Gaming News
