The key numbers at a glance
These figures cover licensed betting only: bookmakers and totalisators, on sport and horse racing. They are for the 2024/25 financial year, 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, and the National Gambling Board (NGB) compiled them from audited provincial statistics [1].
R47.89 billion
Bookmakers' sports betting GGR
Up 49.3% on 2023/24
R51.97 billion
Betting GGR in total
Bookmakers and totalisators. Up 44.7%
85.5%
Share of betting GGR that was online
The NGB rounds this to 86%
R3.42 billion
Betting taxes and levies
59% of the R5.8 billion raised from all legal gambling
70%
Betting's share of all legal gambling revenue
Context ratio only
R21.33 billion
Betting GGR in Mpumalanga, the largest of nine provinces
41.0% of the total
How much do bookmakers earn from sports betting in South Africa?
Licensed bookmakers' sports betting generated R47.89 billion in gross gambling revenue (GGR) in the 2024/25 financial year, up 49.3% from R32.07 billion, according to the National Gambling Board [1].
That is most of the betting total. The table shows all four parts of betting: bookmakers and totalisators, each on sport and on horse racing.
| Sub-sector | GGR | Change on FY2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Bookmakers, sports betting | R47 892 027 847 | +49.3% |
| Bookmakers, horse racing | R3 516 361 259 | +12.3% |
| Totalisators, horse racing | R337 014 035 | −10.6% |
| Totalisators, sports betting | R229 529 910 | −9.8% |
The four add up to the R51 974 933 051 betting total. The NGB's slide deck labels sports betting as sport and other contingencies.
Source: NGB summary report, Figure 26 (page 26) [1].
How big is the betting sector in South Africa?
Betting on sport and horse racing earned R51.97 billion in GGR in 2024/25. That is 70% of all legal gambling revenue, and it grew 44.7% in a year, according to the NGB [1].
The NGB's summary says betting was 60% of the total a year earlier and was the only gambling mode that grew in 2024/25 [1]. Betting GGR is the amount operators keep after paying out winnings, so it is not the amount bet.
Source: NGB summary report, Figure 24 (page 25), section 3.1 (page 12) and the executive summary (page 7) [1].
How fast has sports betting grown?
Bookmakers' sports betting GGR rose from R8.18 billion in FY2020/21 to R47.89 billion in FY2024/25, almost six times as much. The yearly increases were 57%, 61%, 55% and 49% [1].
Exact figures
| FY2020/21 | R8 178 285 690 |
|---|---|
| FY2021/22 | R12 832 845 899 |
| FY2022/23 | R20 655 640 981 |
| FY2023/24 | R32 073 577 088 |
| FY2024/25 | R47 892 027 847 |
The NGB's October 2025 slide deck gives R20.69 billion for FY2022/23. The later summary report gives R20.66 billion, which we use. The other four years are the same in both.
Source: NGB summary report, Figure 26 (page 26) and section 3.4 (page 26) [1]; slide 28 of the NGB deck [2].
What share of betting is online?
Online betting earned R44.46 billion of the R51.97 billion betting GGR, which is 85.5%. The NGB reports 86%. Only six provinces split online from retail, so the true online share cannot be lower [1].
Exact figures
| Online | R44 458 363 755 |
|---|---|
| Retail | R7 516 569 296 |
The Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape gave an online and retail split. Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State did not, so the NGB counts their betting as retail.
Source: NGB summary report, Figure 28 and section 3.7 (page 27) [1].
How much tax does betting pay?
Betting paid R3.42 billion in taxes and levies in 2024/25, which is 59% of the R5.8 billion raised across all legal gambling, according to the NGB [1].
Gambling tax is levied and collected by the provincial licensing authorities [2]. Of the betting total, Mpumalanga collected 41% and the Western Cape 36% [1].
Source: NGB summary report, Figure 29 (page 28), sections 4.1 and 4.2 (page 27) and Table 1 (page 8) [1]; slide 5 of the NGB deck [2].
Which provinces earn the most from betting?
Mpumalanga recorded 41.0% of betting GGR (R21.33 billion), ahead of the Western Cape with 37.6% (R19.52 billion) and Gauteng with 9.0% (R4.66 billion) [1].
The betting chapter of the NGB summary report gives no reason for the ranking, and we do not offer one. These are the provincial totals as the NGB reports them.
Exact figures
| Mpumalanga | R21 325 846 594 |
|---|---|
| Western Cape | R19 516 594 353 |
| Gauteng | R4 662 769 044 |
| Limpopo | R3 960 212 249 |
| KwaZulu-Natal | R1 524 038 921 |
| North West | R421 935 756 |
| Northern Cape | R291 087 989 |
| Eastern Cape | R187 934 050 |
| Free State | R84 514 095 |
Shares are worked out from the rand amounts. The summary report's chart prints them as whole numbers, for example 37% for the Western Cape.
Source: NGB summary report, Figure 24 (page 25) [1]; slide 25 of the NGB deck [2].
Why is the amount wagered so much bigger than the revenue?
Betting turnover, the money wagered, was R1.13 trillion in 2024/25 against R51.97 billion of GGR. Turnover counts money staked more than once. GGR is turnover less the winnings paid to players [1].
The NGB says that for fixed-odds betting turnover is defined differently from other forms of gambling [1]. Betting turnover was 75% of the turnover of all legal gambling. We lead with GGR and treat the turnover figure as the NGB's amount wagered.
Source: NGB summary report, Figure 23 and section 2.1.1 (page 25), explanatory notes (pages 5 and 6) [1].
Definitions: turnover and gross gambling revenue
How to cite these figures
Cite the National Gambling Board as the source and name the table. The table below says where each figure sits in the summary report, so you can check it against the PDF.
| Figure | Amount | NGB table or figure |
|---|---|---|
| Betting GGR | R51 974 933 051 | Figure 24, page 25 |
| Bookmakers' sports betting GGR | R47 892 027 847 | Figure 26, page 26 |
| Online betting GGR | R44 458 363 755 | Figure 28, page 27 |
| Retail betting GGR | R7 516 569 296 | Figure 28, page 27 |
| Betting taxes and levies | R3 424 013 446 | Figure 29, page 28 |
| Taxes and levies, all legal gambling | R5 812 135 921 | Table 1, page 8 |
| Betting turnover | R1 125 602 965 951 | Figure 23, page 25 |
| Mpumalanga betting GGR | R21 325 846 594 | Figure 24, page 25 |
| Western Cape betting GGR | R19 516 594 353 | Figure 24, page 25 |
| Gauteng betting GGR | R4 662 769 044 | Figure 24, page 25 |
Page numbers are the ones printed on the report's pages; the PDF page is three higher. The NGB's disclaimer says users must assess the accuracy of the data themselves.
Sources
The numbers in the text point to these pages. Each was opened on the date shown.
- National Gambling Board, Gambling Sector Performance in South Africa 2024-2025 Summary Report. Read 6 October 2026.
- National Gambling Board, National Gambling Statistics FY2024/25 (slide deck dated 9 October 2025). Read 6 October 2026.
About this guide
Published by Avenmark Media. Drafted with AI assistance. A separate pass then re-opened every source above and checked each claim against it, on . A second, independent check compared a sample of the claims with the same sources. How we write and correct our pages.
Found a mistake? Email [email protected]. We correct the page, change its updated date and say what changed.