South Africa Delays 20% Online Gambling Tax Decision to 2027

South Africa will only announce the final design of its proposed 20% national online gambling tax in the February 2027 Budget. What Treasury said and why operators object.

South Africa's online betting operators will have to wait until February 2027 to find out how a new national gambling tax will work. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana gave the update in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement on 21 October 2026. He said talks are still going on and that the final design will be announced in the February 2027 Budget.

What Treasury has proposed

National Treasury published a discussion paper on 25 November 2025. It proposed a national tax of 20% on the gross gambling revenue (GGR) of online betting and interactive gambling operators. GGR is the money players stake minus the winnings paid back to them.

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Rate: 20% of online GGR, charged nationally
Added, not replaced: the levy would come on top of the gambling taxes that provinces already charge
Revenue: Treasury estimates more than R10 billion a year for national government
Collection: online operators would register with SARS and share the same information they already give provincial gambling boards

What the minister said this week

Godongwana did not announce a rate. He said consultations are continuing on the design of the tax, how it links to the current regulatory framework, and what it means for provinces and the regulated market. He added that the submissions generally agreed that the growth of online gambling, and the harm linked to it, needs to be addressed.

Treasury first gave the public until 30 January 2026 to comment on the paper. It later extended the deadline to 27 February 2026 after stakeholders asked for more time.

Treasury calls it closer to a sin tax

Treasury says raising money is not the main goal. Treasury official Christopher Axelson has described the levy as closer to a sin tax, like the taxes on alcohol and tobacco. The difference is that it would be charged to the companies, not per bet. He told Daily Investor that if the tax leads to less online gambling, Treasury would be happy with that, "even if it reduces tax revenue".

Why operators are pushing back

Operators already pay gambling taxes to the provinces, which regulate and license betting in South Africa. Reports on the discussion paper put the combined rate at about 26% to 29% of online GGR once the provincial taxes are included.

The main objections are:

Cost: a higher total tax would make licensed operators less competitive.
Offshore risk: critics say some players would move to unlicensed offshore sites, which pay no tax at all.
Legal questions: gambling is mainly a provincial responsibility, so some argue a national tax does not fit the current legal framework.

The Free Market Foundation is one of the strongest critics. In its February 2026 submission, policy officer Ayanda Zulu argued that the tax would push players to offshore sites. She called the plan to tax offshore platforms "fundamentally flawed", because there is no mechanism to enforce it.

Why Treasury is looking at online betting

Online betting has grown fast. South Africa's gross gambling revenue rose from R26.3 billion in 2015 to R74.5 billion in 2024, according to South African Reserve Bank figures reported by BusinessTech. Most betting now happens on phones, and the National Gambling Board has warned that some students and grant recipients are betting with money meant for their basic needs. Read more in our article on how SASSA and NSFAS money is being used for betting.

What operators should do now

Plan for the worst case. Work out what a 20% national levy on top of provincial tax would do to margins, bonuses and odds.
Watch the details. The tax base, the start date and how revenue is shared with provinces matter as much as the rate.
Keep reporting clean. The plan links SARS reporting to what operators already send provincial boards.

What happens next

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The next firm date is the February 2027 Budget, which falls in the same month as SiGMA Africa in Cape Town. Until then, the 20% figure is a proposal, not law.