According to the study, nearly three-quarters (72%) of online gamblers described themselves as being in control of their gambling behaviour.
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A new study has revealed that while most South African online gamblers believe they are in control of their betting habits, many are sacrificing basic necessities and borrowing money to continue gambling, raising concerns about the social and financial impact of the country's rapidly growing online gambling industry.
The findings emerged from the South African Gambling Impact Study conducted by Yazi, a South African-founded artificial intelligence-powered consumer research platform.
The research, conducted in May 2026, surveyed 1,028 South Africans who had gambled online within the previous 30 days and analysed 2,569 voice notes collected through the company's WhatsApp-based research platform.
According to the study, nearly three-quarters (72%) of online gamblers described themselves as being in control of their gambling behaviour. However, the data paints a different picture, with many respondents reporting behaviours commonly associated with financial distress and problem gambling.
The study found that 57% of participants had sacrificed essential expenses such as groceries, airtime, transport money, rent or debt repayments in order to fund their gambling activities. In addition, 29% said they had borrowed money to continue gambling, while 59% admitted to chasing losses by placing another bet on the same day after losing.
One of the more alarming findings was that 26% of respondents spent more than 10% of their monthly income on gambling, while 5% reported being unable to stop gambling even when they tried.
The research also highlighted a lack of awareness about responsible gambling tools. More than a quarter (28%) of respondents said they were unaware that gambling operators provide limit-setting tools designed to help users manage their spending.
Yazi said some participants shared deeply personal stories that underscored the human impact of gambling-related financial hardship.
These included individuals who lost money earmarked for essential expenses, with one respondent reporting that they lost their R200 weekly transport budget playing online slot games, while another admitted using their South African Social Security Agency grant money to gamble.
The study also challenged conventional perceptions about who participates in online gambling. Women accounted for 61% of respondents, suggesting that online gambling may be more prevalent among female consumers than traditionally assumed.
Tim Treagus, CEO of Yazi, said the contradiction between gamblers' perceptions of control and their actual behaviour was one of the most significant findings of the study.
“The real story that needs to be told here isn't simply about online gambling. It's about what happens when you give people a space to tell the truth. That is what our research unlocked today,” Treagus said.
“The technology we’ve built is helping us understand human behaviour more accurately, while measuring the human impact more effectively - specifically in sectors of our economy where such data was not previously available.”
This comes as regulators continue to be concerned by the surge in South Africa’s gambling industry over the past few years and the rising number of people getting addicted to it.
According to recent data, the industry generated a record R75 billion in gross gambling revenue in 2024/25, while the betting segment alone had already grown dramatically from R8.8bn in 2019/20 to R23.7bn by 2022/23.
Concerningly, 39% of online punters say they are gambling more than they were a year ago according to Trade Intelligence research, while the National Responsible Gambling Programme (NRGP) recorded a 55% increase in people seeking help.
Marketing executive and author, Khaya Dlanga, said that what concerns him most is not that people are gambling.
“It's that so many appear to be gambling while under financial strain. When people start sacrificing essentials, borrowing money, or believing the next bet might solve a cash-flow problem, we're no longer talking about entertainment. We're talking about vulnerability.”
Yazi said that the broader significance of the study extends far beyond the gambling industry itself and demonstrate the value of conversational research methods in a mobile-first society.
The company noted that traditional survey approaches often struggle to capture nuanced responses, particularly on sensitive topics. By combining WhatsApp conversations, AI-assisted interviewing and large-scale qualitative analysis, organisations can generate richer insights while maintaining speed and scale.
Yazi said it hopes the findings will contribute to broader discussions among regulators, policymakers, financial institutions, researchers and civil society organisations about the realities of online gambling in South Africa and the need for greater awareness and consumer protection measures.
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