Sun International plans to block social grant and National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) recipients from its online betting platform, Sunbet, under a new responsible gambling charter, but concedes it has no means of verifying who receives state support.
Customers will be asked to declare their source of income, and those who name social grants or NSFAS funding will be automatically barred. Chief executive Ulrik Bengtsson said the group does not have access to South African Social Security Agency or NSFAS records, which contain personal information protected by law, and noted that grant and bursary recipients are not legally prohibited from gambling.
Bengtsson acknowledged that self-declaration is imperfect but said it had been used with some success in other countries as a practical way to protect vulnerable players while respecting privacy. He said the group was open to discussing further measures with government and regulators, and the industry has already engaged authorities on access to grant data.
South Africa’s gambling market
| Measure | Figure |
| Gross gambling revenue, all modes, 2024/25 | R75bn |
| Online betting share of revenue, 2024/25 | 60% (about R47bn) |
| Online betting revenue, 2022/23 to 2025/26 | R23.7bn to R62.1bn |
| Casino revenue, 2022/23 to 2025/26 | R16bn–R17bn a year |
| Total wagered, 2024/25 | R1.5trn |
| Sunbet income, year to Dec 2025 | R2.1bn (+75.9%) |
| Estimated illegal online gambling | R50bn a year |
Sunbet has become the group’s main growth driver. Its income rose 75.9% to R2.1bn in the year to December 2025, as more consumers turned to sports betting for financial relief. Sun International is valued at about R11bn on the JSE.
The charter also bars gambling advertising between 6am and 8am and between noon and 6pm to limit exposure to minors. From next year the group plans to use AI to flag behaviour that may indicate a player is at risk of harm.
The move comes as regulatory pressure builds. National Treasury has proposed a 20% tax on gross revenue from online gambling, and a ban on gambling advertising has been discussed. The National Gambling Board (NGB) has sought technology to block unlicensed operators, whose activity is estimated at R50bn a year, and says it is working with Google and Meta to block illegal sites.
Online betting has reshaped the industry. NGB figures show online betting revenue rose from R23.7bn in 2022/23 to R62.1bn in 2025/26, while casino revenue held at R16bn to R17bn. In 2024/25 online betting accounted for 60% of total gross gambling revenue of R75bn, and R1.5trn was wagered across all modes. The NGB has previously warned that grant recipients were turning to gambling for financial relief.
Bengtsson urged the government to avoid heavy-handed measures and to do more to remove illegal operators. He argued that rules or taxes leaving licensed operators less competitive than offshore sites would push players to platforms offering no protection, and said new gambling legislation and Treasury’s tax proposals made this the right time for a wider discussion on regulation.