South Africa’s National Gambling Board (NGB) has given technology suppliers until 12h00 Central African Time on 4 September to explain how they would monitor, block and track illegal online gambling websites targeting South Africans, a month later than the deadline it originally set.
The regulator published its expression of interest (EOI), reference 01/2026_ED, on 30 June, then issued an erratum on 17 July that rewrote six paragraphs, moved the closing date from 7 August to 4 September and changed the submission address. It asks suppliers to build a monitoring, tracking, blocking and reporting solution, and to hand the intelligence it produces to law enforcement.
A prohibition the state cannot enforce
Online casino play has never been legal in South Africa. Section 11 of the National Gambling Act, 2004 (NGA) prohibits unauthorised interactive gambling unless permitted by national law, and no such law was passed. Section 8 makes offering any unlicensed gambling activity unlawful. Sports betting is legal, but licensed and taxed by the provincial licensing authorities rather than nationally.
The NGB, an agency of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, issues no licences of its own. Its role under sections 33, 65 and 66 of the NGA is to help provincial authorities detect and suppress illegal gambling, and section 66(2) covers activity that crosses provincial boundaries. The EOI uses that clause as the legal basis for a blocking capability.
The amended text states the problem plainly: “South Africa is facing serious challenges in combatting illegal interactive gambling offering to South Africans. The enforcement challenge is exacerbated by the offshore location of these illegal operators, as they are coming from foreign jurisdictions.”
R50bn offshore, 16 million customers
South African gambling turnover reached R1.5 trillion in 2024/25, up from R1.14 trillion, with gross gambling revenue (GGR) of R75bn, a 26.2% year-on-year increase. Betting accounted for R52.3bn of that.
The illegal segment sits alongside those numbers rather than inside them. Illegal platforms generate more than R50bn in GGR a year and attracted 16 million South African customers over the past year, according to figures cited by the South African Bookmakers Association (SABA), which puts the unlicensed share of the market at close to two thirds. The NGB has identified 49 unlicensed websites targeting South Africans, and none of that revenue is taxed locally.
SABA chief executive Sean Coleman has pushed for a coordinated response.
“The majority of online gambling activity in South Africa is still taking place outside the regulated system. That means millions of consumers are exposed to operators who pay no local taxes, provide no consumer protection and operate entirely outside of South African law.”
SABA wants the NGA amended to define illegal operators, the Electronic Communications Act amended to permit website blocking, and the Financial Intelligence Centre Act used to stop banks processing payments to unlicensed sites. National Treasury has separately proposed a 20% tax on online gambling.
The World Cup warning
A month before the EOI appeared, the NGB used the 2026 FIFA World Cup to warn the public about illegal operators that defraud punters outright rather than compete with licensed bookmakers. In a media release dated 1 June, the board described fake betting applications, phishing links and social media advertising promising free sign-up bonuses, guaranteed winnings and fake jackpots.
The pattern is consistent. Users register and deposit, the platform shows inflated balances, and withdrawal requests trigger demands for further payments.
“Once payment is made, victims either lose communication with the operators or are pressured into making further payments. The illegal operators mainly target victims through Facebook advertisements, WhatsApp messages, Telegram groups, SMS push links, fake social media pages and mobile applications downloaded outside official app stores,” said NGB acting chief executive Lungile Dukwana.
Some of these platforms copy the names, logos and branding of licensed South African bookmakers. The NGB reminded punters that licensed operators display provincial licence details, never charge fees before releasing winnings, and are reachable only through registered domains rather than pushed apps or links. Winnings from illegal operators are confiscated by the NGB, and victims have no legal recourse to recover losses.
Dukwana said the tournament could “escalate risky gambling behaviour”. Provincial regulators including the North West Gambling Board issued parallel alerts, and The Citizen reported during the tournament that gambling-related debt and addiction were driving an increase in suicidal thoughts among South African bettors. The South African Responsible Gambling Foundation operates a 24-hour counselling line on 0800 006 008.
What the EOI asks suppliers to build
The specification has four parts. Monitoring requires the supplier to track traffic from illegal gambling sites targeting South Africans and profile each one by country of origin, licence status and ownership. Blocking makes those sites inaccessible in the country. Reporting sends the profiles to the NGB for investigation by law enforcement. Tracking watches blocked sites so any reappearance is blocked again.
Two requirements stand out. Suppliers must benchmark against foreign jurisdictions where similar blocking work has been done. They must also identify potential revenue streams from the models they propose and explain how those could sustain the service, which asks vendors to show how the programme might pay for itself.
Suppliers will be asked to demonstrate their blocking method and to state what approvals they would need to operate in South Africa. The NGB says it will use the submissions to develop specifications for a subsequent request for proposals, without obligation to any participant.
What the 17 July erratum changed
Beyond the deadline extension, the erratum removed the requirement for proof of registration on the Central Supplier Database and limited the tax clearance certificate requirement to domestic suppliers, which lowers the barrier for international vendors. Submissions now go to a dedicated address, eoi-illegalonlineblocking@ngb.org.za, with a 50MB attachment cap and permission to split submissions across multiple emails.
The language also softened. The original described the EOI as a process to “prequalify potential bidders”; the amended version solicits proposals from “potential service providers willing to be invited” to a later RFP. A briefing session was held on Microsoft Teams on 15 July.
The blocking power does not exist yet
The NGB has no statutory mechanism to compel internet service providers to block anything. The National Gambling Amendment Bill, introduced in 2018, has lapsed twice, been revived twice and spent years in mediation. A version published after a closed committee meeting in mid-2025 restored a provision requiring the NGB to notify ISPs to stop doing business with illegal operators.
Internet Service Providers’ Association chair Sasha Booth-Beharilal has set out conditions for any blocking regime: “ISPA’s position is that any disruption of internet services to South Africans should be done only as part of a clear legislative framework.” The association wants blocked sites disclosed, blocks reviewable, and ISPs reimbursed for the cost.
Presenting to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition on 24 June, the NGB said it had asked the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies to assist with IP address blocking and had engaged ICASA. It has already worked with Google and Meta to remove listings and advertising for unlicensed operators.
Other jurisdictions have taken the litigation route instead, with Florida suing Stake and VGW over unlicensed online play in August. The technical objections to blocking are well established: domain blocking is circumvented by mirror sites, IP blocking by VPNs, and deep packet inspection requires expensive equipment, slows traffic and is still defeated by VPNs. Enforcement incentives are also uneven, since provincial authorities collect gambling tax revenue while carrying the cost of policing operators who pay none.
Submissions close on 4 September, after which the NGB expects to run demonstrations and issue an RFP. Any system that comes out of it will still need Parliament to pass the legislation that gives the board the power to order a block.
Source: National Gambling Board SA; South African Bookmakers’ Association; Gov reports
