What does the visibility of online gambling say about us?

by Nicole Dickson

It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the presence of online gambling in South Africa. The advertisements are everywhere.

Billboards line our highways. Radio advertisements promise excitement and opportunity. Television commercials portray betting as entertainment, community, and success. Sports teams carry the logos of betting companies on their jerseys. During major sporting events, gambling promotions have become part of the backdrop of the game itself.

What was once a relatively contained activity has become normalised and woven into everyday life. According to Statistics South Africa, gambling and betting are on the rise. Data from the National Gambling Board show that gross gambling revenue reached R59.3 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, representing a 25.7% increase from R47.2 billion in 2022/23.

The rise of online gambling raises further concerns. With betting apps available around the clock, gambling has never been more accessible. "Download the app. Bet from anywhere. No need to leave home." Convenience has removed many of the barriers that once limited gambling. It has also made children and adolescents more vulnerable to exposure. In an era when countries around the world are debating restrictions on social media use for children under sixteen, we should perhaps also be asking how we intend to protect them from the growing accessibility and normalisation of the addictive nature of online gambling.

Of course, not everyone who gambles develops a problem. But the sheer scale of gambling promotion invites us to ask whether we are becoming desensitised to its risks. Perhaps the most important question is not whether gambling exists, but what kind of society we are nurturing when it becomes one of our most visible public narratives. 

In a country already marked by high levels of unemployment, inequality, and economic uncertainty, the question is not simply whether gambling is right or wrong. The deeper questions are: What does its growing presence say about us as a society? What happens when industries profit from human vulnerability? Are we placing our hope in chance rather than opportunity? Are we marketing risk more aggressively than resilience? Are we profiting from longing rather than addressing its causes?

These are not simple questions, but they are important ones. Because the stories surrounding us do more than sell products. They shape our imaginations, influence our desires, and reveal something about the hopes—and vulnerabilities—of the society we are becoming.