90 illegal online gambling sites operating in South Africa

The National Gambling Board (NGB) has allocated 596,000 rounds to identify illegal gambling sites.

According to the NGB, there are at least 90 illegal gambling sites operating in South Africa, all of which are registered and licensed outside the country. Minister Tau stressed that the lack of engagement with these operators makes the process of blocking them much more difficult.

The NGB engages with the organisations that provide the technical platforms for the websites to operate in South Africa, but does not engage directly with the illegal operators. According to Minister Tau, the NGB has submitted requests to Google Africa to remove ten such sites in the 2024/25 financial year, but to date none have been removed.

When information is received about a gambling website, the NGB checks whether it has a South African license. If the operator is registered abroad and does not have local accreditation, the resource is considered illegal.