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In Nigeria, some bet to pay for food and rent, only to lose what little they have. In South Africa, recovering gamblers share the toll of addiction as calls grow for tighter controls on online betting.
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00:05Hello, I'm Christy Mundo. This is DW News Africa. Coming up on the show, can regulators
00:11get the gambling industry under control?
00:26For some people, a bet is a bit of fun. For others, it's a chance, however small, to ease
00:33financial pressure. In Nigeria, millions are gambling not just for entertainment, but in
00:38the hope that a lucky win might make a difference. Amaka Okoe reports.
00:45When Bola got admission into university, money was always tight. Sometimes even finding enough
00:53to print materials for class became a challenge. But everything changed when he could not pay
00:59his rent.
01:00Then the second year, I had an issue with the rent. So I started betting.
01:09With his landlady demanding payment, Bola placed a 200 naira bet and won. For him, it was big
01:17time.
01:24For Bola, that win felt like proof that betting could solve his problems. A small stake had
01:31paid his rent. The pressure was gone. But Bola says that win became the reason that he kept
01:38going back.
01:39The industry often describes sports betting as entertainment. But many bettors tell a different
01:45story. Some say they come here hoping to solve immediate financial problems. To pay rent,
01:52to buy food.
01:54Imagine coming here to bet just to be able to afford a meal. That's what some of these people
02:00told me. They bet to afford basic necessities. Sometimes they really, sometimes they miss.
02:08They never stop calling. And they end up losing even the money they don't.
02:16For some young Nigerians, betting is no longer about football or entertainment. They see it
02:22as an answer to an urgent question. Where will my next money come from? Yet, while bettors
02:29may hope for life-changing winnings, even betting company accepts there is another side.
02:36Of course, people do lose. No doubt about it. Betting should not be a source of income
02:41to anyone. It should be more like an entertainment.
02:44But for Bola, entertainment was never really the motivation. The attraction was the possibility that
02:51another small bet could deliver another big win. Yes, after he paid his rent with his winnings,
02:57he's not lost that hope. So, I'll see how to flash back to the time that I won. So, I'll
03:04say,
03:05ah, Bola, you won so much this last time. You can still do it now. It's not over yet. Just
03:12keep pushing.
03:13After years of gambling, the wins do not outweigh the losses.
03:19To be candid, I've lost money more than I've won. Still, he keeps playing, not because he believes
03:28he is winning. I believe the best company are winning me a lot of money currently, even though
03:36I've lost a lot on them. So, that's why I keep on playing and playing that, hoping that one day,
03:43I'll hit the main target so that I can recover all my losses. Today, Bola says he earns around
03:50100,000 Naira a month, about 75 US dollars. He sends his spends about half of that on his gambling
03:58habit. Bola knows the losses are greater than the wins. Yet, he still believes another breakthrough
04:04might come. I won't lie. That's the truth. I'll still bet because, as I said, I'll still think
04:11about those things that I've won. So, I'll keep trying. One day, maybe, I'll just go to the level
04:18of millions and I can recover part of my money. That hope lies at the center of the betting industry's
04:26business model. While some see sports betting as entertainment, others do tend to it as a possible
04:33solution to financial hardship. But who should be responsible when people continue betting despite
04:39mounting losses? Customers are already well-oriented at it is a financial risk going into betting. They
04:48have that at the back of their mind that this we can actually win and sometimes we can actually lose.
04:54People come in to bet based on different reasons. It is more of an individual behavioral thing.
05:01The industry insists that customers understand the risks and ultimately make their own decisions.
05:07But regulation is becoming more and more of a challenge, particularly in an industry
05:13that is increasingly moving online. Policy experts say that makes enforcing age restrictions more
05:20difficult. These things are done on your phone, on your apps. Persons younger than 18 years of age,
05:27they are not allowed or permitted to participate in lotteries, sports betting, games of chance,
05:37generally speaking. Some argue stronger regulation is needed. Others call for an absolute ban.
05:44But I think a policy question for us is whether banning will not drive all of this underground.
05:53It is a debate about personal responsibility, government regulation and industry responsibility.
06:00Stories of big wins continue to fill hopes of striking it lucky.
06:06At our branches I've seen people win about a million, 1.5 million.
06:11But they do not show how people may lose chasing that remote chance.
06:17What I would tell my younger so before placing the first bet is that it shouldn't be a money that
06:25is meant for something important. Like maybe you are in school, this money is meant for tuition fee.
06:31Bola still remembers the day a 200 naira bet solved his rent problem. Years later,
06:37he says he has lost far more than he has won. But like many others, chasing another breakthrough,
06:44he still believes the next bet could be different. And that may be what makes walking away so difficult.
06:54Benjamin Olariwaju is the head of the Nigeria branch of Gamble Pools. I asked him
06:58what they were seeing through their work.
07:01Right. So at Gamble Pools, what we have done or what we have realized is that it's on an upward
07:08rise.
07:09As the beginning of 2025, 2026, the projection for revenue that would be generated in Africa
07:18was projected at around 1.5 billion thereabouts. As we speak today, it has doubled. I'm talking around
07:274 billion in revenue for the gambling operators. This shows that there's a problem. Because
07:33statistically, 80% of all the revenues are generated from 5% of the gamblers. So there's an upward rise
07:41in
07:42the problem. And what we at Gamble Pools is doing is to constantly help promote responsible gaming,
07:48as well as create awareness. We are the first company or first non-profits in Africa to build a
07:54self-excluding application that caters to the African market with over 20 languages from the
08:02indigenous African tribe. So I think we are doing a few things in that direction.
08:07Benjamin, just a point on transparency. Who funds Gamble Pools? And how can people be confident
08:14that those funders don't influence your work?
08:19All right. Thank you very much. That's a good question. Gamble Pools is a non-profit,
08:23and we've been operating for over two years, right? And in that two years, we've had over 24
08:29psychologists on standby. Interestingly, we don't charge any of our clients any fee whatsoever. We are
08:37solely people who rely on grants and the goodwill of people who see the positive impact we do. In 2026,
08:45we award the Clarion Safer Gaming Charity Award by the Sigma Gaming World, right? We were invited to
08:54ICE Barcelona as well as the International Association of Gaming Responsible in Canada. So people out there see
09:02our work and they donate. And we also apply for grants to get the fundings we need. And for someone
09:09watching who feels trapped in a cycle of losses and believes the next bet will solve their problems,
09:16what would you say to them? We go back to the three Cs, compulsion, loss of control,
09:24and continuance in spite of negative consequences. As soon as an individual gets to this top three Cs,
09:34just stop. And one of the best tools that the gambling operators use is loss chasing, right? If you look
09:42at the ecosystem of an average betting platform, the coloring, the notification, the instruction
09:50or action-driven command. These are measures put in place by these companies to ensure that individuals
09:56are perpetually trapped in the system. So my best advice is just stop. At Gambo Pulse, we say progress
10:05begins with a pause. Just pause. And finally, Benjamin, what gives you hope that this problem can be
10:13addressed? You're up against an industry that's well-resourced. And you're relying on donations
10:21from people who happen to appreciate the work that you are doing, as you tell us. But I just get
10:28the
10:28sense that this industry is bigger than even the authorities. It's also very much loaded and can buy
10:35people off, so to say. Right. That's a very good question. Thank you very much. So one thing that gives
10:42us hope and that keeps us going is the fact that we can see measurable impact to what we do.
10:50Since the beginning of Gambo Pulse, we've had over nine million impressions across social media.
10:56We've had 23,500 school engagements across higher institutions, right? This is enough motivation
11:05to say, okay, we can take the Goliath of the industry. We can fight and be the underdogs,
11:11be the David. Because what we are looking to do is not necessarily say gambling is bad. We are saying
11:17we just need to put in policies, measures for responsible gaming, protection of underage gamblers,
11:23as well as mental health structures in place, right? So these are the things that we look into,
11:31not necessarily focusing on the operators themselves.
11:34All right. That's Benjamin Olariwaju, head of the Nigeria branch of Gamble Pulse Initiative Africa.
11:41We appreciate your time. Thank you, Benjamin.
11:45Thank you very much. It's a pleasure. Thank you.
11:48Now, a few taps on a smartphone are all it takes to place a bet in South Africa's booming online
11:54gambling market. As concerns grow over addiction, campaigners say tackling gambling harm requires
12:00more than regulation alone. DW's Diane Hawker-Kaloubi reports from Johannesburg.
12:07You know that it's a far-fetched dream, but yet you believe it.
12:12South Africa has a gambling problem worth billions of euros.
12:16Online betting adverts dominate billboards and social media feeds, all promising life-changing
12:24winnings. But behind the marketing lies a growing addiction crisis. Nearly a third of South Africa's
12:31gamblers are considered problem gamblers. And as online betting explodes, politicians, regulators,
12:39and recovering addicts are all asking the same question. Can South Africa get the industry
12:45under control?
12:48Sisande Luana is a community healthcare worker in Johannesburg. For two years, she chased the promise
12:55of a big win through online betting. Instead, she lost more than 150,000 rand, about 8,000 euros.
13:04It becomes something that steals your joy, steals your happiness.
13:12Sisande says her addiction began during a personal crisis. She was the treasurer of her local Stockfell,
13:19a community savings scheme. Her former lover borrowed money and refused to pay it back, leaving her with a debt.
13:28Desperate to replace it, she turned to online gambling. At first she won, then the losses began.
13:36I'm thinking, if I can just gamble, if I can just get online, maybe I can win this money back.
13:43And my first bet,
13:45I won. The whole week I was winning. So when I get paid, the first thing I do is gamble.
13:51So that I can
13:52replace the Malia band, the Stockfell. But now things didn't go the way I planned.
13:58The addiction soon consumed her finances and her life. She borrowed money from friends and family
14:05while hiding the extent of her losses. At her lowest point, she considered ending her life. But after
14:12seeking help from her church and a support group, she slowly rebuilt her finances and her confidence.
14:19Today, she speaks publicly about her experience to warn others.
14:23Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the profile of gambling in South Africa has completely changed.
14:29And it has a lot to do with this. Before the pandemic, online gambling only accounted for about
14:3515% of all gambling. Now it accounts for 86% in some parts of the country.
14:43In essence, technology has pushed up problem gambling. Because you can, as I was saying,
14:50you can gamble from anywhere. You can download from wherever you are and get the kind of the app
14:56that you actually want to play with. The growth has been extraordinary.
15:01According to national figures, South Africans bet more than 80 billion US dollars in the last financial
15:08year. That's equivalent to roughly half the country's annual national budget.
15:16And those figures don't include gambling on unlicensed websites or illegal street gambling operations.
15:25For Gift Rikorzo, gambling started long before betting apps became commonplace. Growing up in Soweto,
15:32he first encountered gambling through informal street games. Later came casinos, then online betting.
15:42Every month, I asked for money from my family. Because now they were questioning,
15:51why is it that you are working, but you are always asking for something? Wow. A gambler has got
15:58nice stories to tell. Yeah. So I was giving them these nice stories all along.
16:05Like Sisanda, Gift says gambling strained relationships and left him trapped in a cycle of chasing losses.
16:13We are in a very, very, very deep, deep, deep problem. That we don't know how we're going to fix
16:20by ourselves.
16:23It's a mental illness, if I have to put it like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you are not okay. So
16:31whoever wants to take this path of gambling, don't. Because once you win, you'll want to go back every time.
16:42Those concerns have alarmed lawmakers. Some now describe gambling addiction as a national crisis.
16:51It's a pandemic. You can't deal with it in a piecemeal. You can't deal with it like it's just
17:00a small thing that's happening. The government's main response so far has been financial. The National
17:08Treasury has proposed a 20% tax on online betting operators. What we recognize is that this is just
17:16one instrument in a package of measures that are required to be able to deal with all of these issues.
17:24But many recovering gamblers and campaigners argue taxation alone will not solve the problem. They
17:31say regulation is key. I think the real solution is for them to regulate online gambling.
17:40We need a kind of aggressive counter-marketing almost to the level that the country went on with HIV and
17:55AIDS.
17:56Some argue that regulating advertising should be the first step.
18:02Those adverts are very effective. In a way, they will get to you.
18:08For recovering gamblers like Gift and Sisanda, a new life is a life without gambling. But they don't
18:15want to leave other affected gamblers behind. As online betting continues to grow, they fear many more
18:22South Africans will learn the hard way that the promise of easy money often comes at a very high price.
18:31Smartphones have made gambling easier than ever in South Africa, putting betting platforms only a few
18:37clicks away. But has regulation kept pace? And what do we know about the real impact on gamblers and their
18:45families? Well, joining us now is Bongile Similane-Kuntana. She's executive director of the South African
18:51Responsible Gambling Foundation. The organization is funded by the gambling industry. Welcome to DW News Africa's
18:59Sibongile. Why don't we begin with your view of whether or not the gambling industry in South Africa needs more
19:07regulation?
19:12Good evening to your listeners, Christine. Look, South Africa does have progressive regulations,
19:19but are they enough? That's the question. They are insufficient in as far as not, you know,
19:27protecting the players and the miners against gambling harm and gambling exposure. What I mean about that is,
19:35for instance, when you look at advertising, it's very huge in South Africa. It's all over the place. It's available
19:43on
19:43the on social media. It's available on billboards. And that makes vulnerable people, you know, be the
19:52target of gambling. But in terms of our laws, we do have the laws and they are not perfect. I
19:59believe that
20:00they can be strengthened in as far as ensuring that advertising is kept, you know, to a certain degree.
20:07Right. When I talk about, you know, you know, harm reduction in terms of advertising, you need to
20:15remember that there are people who are either recovering gamblers or people that actually are
20:21addicted to gambling. Now, if they are constantly bombarded with advertising or they see advertising
20:28messages on gambling, it's very difficult to remain sober. And those that have not come forward and
20:35said that they've got a gambling addiction, they actually continue experiencing the harm. So
20:41regulatory wise, I believe that we do have very sound regulatory framework, but it does need
20:48strengthening. Your organisation, as I said out in the beginning, is funded by the gambling industry.
20:53How can people be sure that your focus is protecting vulnerable players rather than just protecting the
21:01industry's reputation? Well, if we were protecting the industry's reputation, we wouldn't be attempting
21:11to hold them accountable. And we are not part of the industry. We are an advocacy body that was
21:18established by the industry because they knew that gambling can result into harm. So the foundation
21:24was founded by the industry to ensure that when people experience harm, they actually have an organisation
21:31that they can go towards. And it doesn't mean that because we are funded by them, then we are pushing
21:37the narrative that they are expecting us. We are a public health institution that has epidemiological
21:43interest in how the public is assisted and how we deal with harm in South Africa. And it's often
21:50interesting that there is that relationship that is often, you know, placed together, the synonym between
21:57our names and the gambling industry to say, but you are part of the industry, you are funded by the
22:03industry. My question is, if that is the case, why would government be interested in taxing the
22:10industry? If the gambling industry does not contribute towards, you know, the treatment of harm of those
22:16that are experiencing harm, who will? Because I don't see anyone that says that we are willing to provide the
22:23funding so that people that experience harm, they can be treated. It goes beyond the treatment. We also
22:29conduct the research. We conduct public awareness so that we can educate the public about the harm.
22:35It's the same thing as cars. They are on the road. They have to pay tax. So we need to
22:41look at the funding,
22:43the 0.1% that the industry contributes within the context of other industries that are taxed to make
22:51sure that, you know, if you put the car, you are manufacturing the car, you still have to
22:55contribute towards, you know, the minimisation of the impact of the cars in the environment. So why
23:03are we looking at this differently? Spongilek, can the South African authorities get this industry
23:09under control? They can. There is a willingness, finally. We now have the National Gambling Board that
23:17has been finally appointed. The minister, the new current minister, has actually been having the
23:24the ongoing National Gambling Council meetings. And there is a willingness. But with like with any
23:31other laws, the wheels of, you know, the legislation, they take very long to actually end. And by the time
23:38we have the regulations that we are expecting, harm would have taken course, harm would have, you know,
23:45been perpetuated. Currently, the revenue that the industry generated was, is actually 1.8 billion.
23:51It increased from 1.5, sorry, 1.8 trillion. It increased from 1.5 trillion in the previous
23:59financial year, which, which says that it indicates that it increased by 8 to 9%. In a normal country that
24:07is
24:07experiencing poverty, lawmakers should be sitting around the table and ensuring that the laws are passed as
24:141.5 trillion yesterday. Because by the time they agree on, you know, formalising the regulations that
24:21are required, the country will be sitting at 3 trillion in terms of the revenue. We cannot afford to have
24:27that. We've got youth that is unemployed. We've got youth that are using the state funding to actually
24:33gamble that money.
24:35For someone watching who thinks they may have a gambling problem, what are the warning signs that
24:42they should take seriously?
24:46When you start chasing the losses, I mean, the DSM-5 points out to a number of issues. You
24:53live beyond your means. You start gambling money that is meant for household, you know,
24:57um, necessities, you skip rent, you, you, you, you, you gamble instead. And that becomes an ongoing
25:05petting. You start lying about what you are doing on your phone. You start paying more attention on,
25:12on betting and on everything else. You forget certain tasks. You will rather be on your phone
25:18or gambling instead of doing your, your, your chores. Um, you borrow money from your family,
25:24you start stealing. So those are the signs that many people will actually start, uh, uh, experiencing.
25:30But those signs, they have to be experienced over a certain period, like 12 months as per the DSM-5.
25:38All right. That is Sbongile Smilane Bruntana, Executive Director of the
25:42South African Responsible Gambling Foundation. We appreciate that. Thank you, Sbongile.
25:52And that's it for now. Be sure to check out our other stories on dw.com forward slash Africa
25:57or on social media. I'll see you next time. Bye-bye.