Online sports betting developing well in South Africa
News on 27 Jun 2016
News on 27 Jun 2016
South African lawmakers may have nixed the legalisation of online gambling in general, but the sports betting variant, which has restricted legality, continues to prosper.
The market is dominated by four major operators following the departure of Ladbrokes some time ago – Sportingbet, SunBet, Bet.co.za and the most recent arrival, Craig Venter’s Clickabet (see previous report).
A 2014 review of the sector prepared by the independent professional business services provider PwC predicted that the vertical will generate increased revenues at a growth rate of around 7.7 percent compounded annually to Rands 5 billion by 2019 from Rands 3.5 billion in 2014.
The overall sports betting market is presently delivering growth figures of almost 20 percent per annum, PwC reports.
Most South African sports betting goes to horse racing, but general sports betting is developing rapidly and should overtake horse racing and comprise 57 percent of wagering by 2017, according to PwC. That compares with the 46 percent of overall sports wagering recorded in 2014
In an interview with the local publication IT Web this week, Venter revealed that his newly-launched Clickabet is recording new registrations up by 40 percent, with a surge of 100 percent in betting volumes since the start of the Euro 2016 football championship. And with the championship now in the last 16 knockout phase, volumes are increasing even further.
“More and more people are getting comfortable placing bets in SA on an online basis,” Venter said. “As broadband penetration increases in SA, this will grow even further.”
