Virgin Bet has gone live in South Africa, marking the first time LiveScore Group has taken the brand beyond the UK. The platform, accessible at virginbet.co.za, will be operated out of the group’s existing Nigeria operations, running alongside its LiveScore Bet product in the region.
Africa’s Largest Regulated Gambling Market
South Africa is the largest licensed gambling market on the continent, regulated at both provincial and national levels. According to the National Gambling Board (NGB), R1.5 trillion ($89 billion) was wagered in the country during the 2024/2025 financial year, up 31.3% on the prior year. Betting accounted for 75% of that total, with casinos contributing 19.5%. Limited payout machines and bingo made up the remaining 5.4%.
The sector employed approximately 34,316 people by 2024, per NGB figures. The scale of the market has attracted sustained attention from international operators, though South Africa’s National Treasury has proposed a 20% levy on online gambling revenue, a measure the industry has largely pushed back against.
For LiveScore Group, the launch represents a meaningful step in a stated Africa expansion strategy. The group already operates LiveScore Bet in Nigeria, providing an established infrastructure from which to run the South African product.
Product Focus and Market Positioning
The South African platform targets the country’s dominant sports betting audience, with football, rugby and cricket as the primary focus. LiveScore Group’s media assets, centred on the LiveScore app, give the group a direct customer acquisition channel that most rival operators in the market do not have.
Gail Odgers, head of marketing for Virgin Bet South Africa, framed the launch around trust-building rather than aggressive market entry.
“We’re focused on building trust and introducing Virgin Bet in a way that South Africans can feel confident in.”
Odgers also cited sport as a core cultural entry point: “Whether it’s football, rugby or cricket, sport is part of everyday conversation. That passion is what makes this market so exciting for us.”
Player Safety and Compliance
The operator confirmed the new site includes deposit limits, time-outs, and self-exclusion options at launch, alongside age verification and a dedicated local customer support team. LiveScore Group said it plans to initiate corporate social responsibility projects focused on safer gambling practices within the South African community.
Compliance with South Africa’s regulatory framework, which splits oversight between national and provincial bodies, will be a critical operational requirement. The country’s online gambling sector sits at a complex regulatory juncture: significant in scale, growing fast, and facing potential structural changes to its tax regime.
Virgin Bet was established in 2019 as part of LiveScore Group’s convergence strategy, combining sports media and betting under a single ecosystem. The South Africa launch is the first application of that model in a market outside the UK, with the group’s Africa ambitions now carrying a live product as proof of concept. Whether further markets follow on the continent will depend partly on how quickly the South African operation reaches scale, and how the proposed 20% levy on online gambling revenue progresses through South Africa’s legislative process.
Source: iGaming Business
