South Africa leads global online gambling participation rates

South Africa has recorded the highest online gambling participation rate among 48 surveyed markets. According to GWI’s Q2 2025 survey in the Digital 2026 Global Overview Report, 32.3% of internet users aged 16 and older visited a gambling or betting website or app in the month preceding the survey.

Norway follows in second place at 31.2%, with Greece (25.8%) and New Zealand (24.0%) also ranking highly. In Africa, Ghana ranks fifth globally with a 21.5% participation rate, while Nigeria ranks tenth at 18.0%. These figures place several African nations ahead of the United States, which ranks 38th.

In South Africa, the betting industry has seen massive growth, expanding by more than 1,400% between 2018 and 2023. Data from Statistics South Africa shows the industry rose from R10.1 billion to R152.6 billion during that period, driven largely by sports betting and online platforms. Gambling now accounts for 54.5% of total household expenditure on recreational activities in the country.