Regulation and Legal
The Illegal Gambling Task Team Makes Its First Arrests
The Illegal Gambling Task Team (IGTT) is a new joint unit made up of the National Gambling Board (NGB), the provincial licensing authorities and the South African Police Service. It sits under the Law Enforcement Forum, the body where the NGB and the provinces coordinate enforcement. According to an NGB media statement dated 7 August and published on 12 August, the team conducted its first ground operations in Limpopo, visiting Modimolle on 4 August and Lephalale on 6 August, with the Limpopo Gambling Board, the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator and the North West Gambling Board participating.
The team inspected five sites that were trading as internet cafés but were, according to the NGB, running illegal gambling. Thirteen people were arrested: five punters, six site managers and two cashiers. Criminal charges were filed against those arrested, fines were imposed, and R10,853.10 in cash was confiscated. Two of the premises were displaying Film and Publication Board certificates, and the NGB has referred them to the FPB to verify their authenticity.
The cash is small change. The NGB said as much, with acting CEO Lungile Dukwana describing it as a fraction of what illegal operators take in. What matters is the model. Limpopo was chosen as the pilot province, and the NGB says it plans to roll out similar operations across all nine provinces. If you have ever wondered whether the “internet café” with the tinted windows is what it says it is, this is the answer regulators are working towards.
Five of the thirteen arrested were customers, not staff. Public commentary often repeats the line that only operators get prosecuted under the National Gambling Act. This operation shows that during a physical raid, punters on the premises can also be arrested.
Site Blocking Moves Towards a Provider
The NGB’s plan to block illegal online gambling websites is not new. The board issued an expression of interest (EOI) on 30 June for a system to monitor, track, block and report on illicit online gambling, then published a correction on 17 July. An EOI is an early procurement step: the board is asking suppliers to say what they could build, not appointing anyone yet.
What changed in August is the deadline. Trade press reports, including an iGaming Business article on 24 August, said the closing date for responses had been extended to 4 September 2026 to give more firms time to respond. There is no blocking in force yet, and there will not be until a provider is appointed, a system is built, and it is tested.
Offshore casino sites that take rand deposits without a provincial licence are the target. If the NGB gets a working system, access to those sites through local networks could get harder. However, anyone who has watched site blocking elsewhere knows operators tend to move domains faster than regulators can update lists. Either way, this is the first concrete infrastructure step the NGB has taken on the offshore problem, and it deserves watching.
The NGB Links Gambling to Unemployment Figures
On 13 August, the NGB responded to the latest jobs report from Statistics South Africa, which showed unemployment had climbed to 33.6%, leaving around 8.5 million people out of work. Their message didn’t pull any punches: gambling might be fun, but it’s not a way to make a living or solve money problems.
The statement leaned on the NGB’s own 2023/24 socio-economic impact study. According to that research, gambling participation is highest among people aged 25 to 34, with 77% of that age group saying they gamble, and 55% of identified problem gamblers fall in the same bracket. More than half of gamblers surveyed, 54%, said they use winnings to buy basic household necessities, and 43% said winnings go towards debts or bills.
None of this is a policy change. It is a regulator using a bad economic data point to restate its responsible gambling line, and to steer people towards its verified operators portal and the National Responsible Gambling Programme helpline on 0800 006 008. It does, however, tell you where the NGB’s head is at going into the second half of the year: harm, not growth.
Quiet on the Bill and the Tax
Two of the biggest regulatory stories of the past year did not move in August. The Remote Gambling Bill, the private member’s bill that would create a national licensing framework for online casino games, had no confirmed committee activity during the month. National Treasury’s proposed 20% national tax on online gross gambling revenue, which closed for public comment in February, also produced no new published position in August. Both remain live, and neither has a firm date attached.
Operators and Industry
Super Group Posts Record Quarter on the Back of Africa
Super Group, the New York-listed owner of Betway, released second quarter results on 5 August. The company reports in US dollars and does not break out South Africa separately. Still, it has previously said South Africa accounts for around 80% of its Africa segment, so the Africa numbers are a fair proxy for how Betway is doing here.
Group revenue for the quarter came in at $684 million, up 18% from the same period last year, with a quarterly profit of $123 million, up from a $3 million loss a year earlier. Africa revenue rose from $228 million to $310 million for the quarter, and from $429 million to $577 million for the half year. The bit slots players should notice is the split: Africa iGaming revenue, which is casino rather than sports, climbed from $156 million to $202 million in the quarter and from $290 million to $391 million across the half. Casino is now comfortably the larger of Betway’s two African revenue lines.
The FIFA World Cup helped the sportsbook, but CEO Neal Menashe described the business as casino-led, and the numbers back that up. Super Group increased the full-year guidance to $2.6 billion in revenue and $710 million in adjusted EBITDA. For context, this is the same company that disclosed in June that the South African Reserve Bank was investigating transfers of money between its local and offshore entities. There was no public update on that probe in August.
Hollywoodbets Adds Esports
Hollywoodbets launched esports betting in early August through a deal with supplier DATA.BET, according to trade press reports on 7 August. This is a sportsbook product rather than a casino one, so it will not change much for slots players, but it does show Hollywoodbets still closing gaps in its product range after adding IGT PlayDigital slots in July.
Betway, meanwhile, spent its marketing budget on a six-week “Betway Clubhouse” viewing experience at Benchwarmers in Rosebank, running from 19 August to 27 September. That is a campaign, not news, but it indicates how much the two market leaders are now spending on brand.
The Lottery Fight Heads for Judgment
Sizekhaya Holdings took over the National Lottery from Ithuba on 1 June, and Ithuba’s challenge to that award is now with the courts. According to a Sunday Times report on 8 August, the case was heard in the Pretoria High Court in July, and judgment is expected before the end of 2026. The Ringeta consortium, which the bid evaluation committee originally identified as the preferred bidder, is also challenging the award, and the EFF has entered the matter arguing that the involvement of Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s sister-in-law in the Sizekhaya consortium created a conflict of interest. Sizekhaya, the advisory panel and the National Lotteries Commission reject that.
The August reporting is interesting because it draws on court papers to explain why Ithuba lost. The advisory panel’s report reportedly ranked Ithuba first in localisation and supplier development, thanks to its local technology partner, Paytronix, but found that the partner had less scale and experience than international rivals. Sizekhaya’s Chinese technology partner, Genlot, was praised for its capacity, and the panel favoured Sizekhaya’s more ambitious revenue growth projections for the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund. Ithuba was recommended as the reserve bidder, and Minister Parks Tau accepted that.
For anyone who buys a Lotto ticket, nothing changes until the court rules. Sizekhaya is running the draws. What the judgment could do is unwind or confirm the whole award, which is a big deal for an eight-year licence.
Land Based Casinos and Racing
August was quiet for Sun International, Tsogo Sun and Peermont in terms of announcements. Sun International’s voluntary trading update on 30 June guided to roughly 6% revenue growth for the six months to June, and the full interim results are scheduled for 7 September. Tsogo Sun published no material SENS announcements relating to gaming during the month. There were no significant confirmed developments from either 4Racing or Gold Circle.
Payments and Player Issues
There were no confirmed changes to 1Voucher, OTT, Ozow, PayShap, Capitec Pay or card processing that affect gambling deposits or withdrawals in August. If your deposit method worked in July, it should still work now. The one player-facing item of note was the NGB’s unemployment statement above, which is more of a responsible gambling message than a payments story.
On the provincial side, the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board hosted its first Women Shaping Gaming forum on 28 August as part of Women’s Month, and the NGB ran responsible gambling outreach in the Western Cape at the end of the month. Neither changes any rule for players.
Games and Content
Nothing significant landed for South African slots players in August. The IGT PlayDigital rollout with Hollywoodbets, which brought titles like Cleopatra and Cash Eruption to the local market, was a July story, with a further 20 titles promised over the following months. August saw no confirmed new studio entries, local jackpot networks, or aggregation deals. That is not unusual for the month after a World Cup, when supplier attention tends to shift back to the northern hemisphere football season.
What to Watch in September 2026
The NGB’s site-blocking EOI closes on 4 September, after which the board will decide whether to move to a formal tender. Sun International publishes interim results on 7 September, which will give the first hard numbers on Sunbet’s growth for the half. The lottery judgment is expected before the end of the year, but there is no fixed date. The Remote Gambling Bill and the national online gambling tax remain open with no scheduled milestones. And if the NGB is true to its word, expect further IGTT operations in a second province.