In recent months the CEO of Pick n Pay was just the latest of many to raise concerns about the level of gambling the country. Now Business Day reports that members of the industry body, SA Bookmakers Association, are in discussions with relevant authorities to see how people receiving grants from SASSA and NSFAS can be prohibited from gambling online.
In their October report, Stats SA confirmed that the betting industry is booming with total gambling revenue in the country reaching R59,3 billion in the most recent year they assessed. This represents a 25,7% rise from the previous year. Money spent on gambling has been growing steadily very years since 2000 and most of the growth has been with online gambling. Casinos in the country are struggling and seen no increase in expenditures.
The concern is that when betting is not with additional funds, but with grant money which is intended for essentials like food, losing this money will leave the gamblers unable to buy food. Gambling is particularly popular with young people and with online gambling it can be easier for this activity become compulsive.
Gamblers Anonymous South Africa describes a compulsive gambler as a person whose gambling has caused growing and continuing problems in any area of their life.
“The sooner you reach out for help, the sooner you take back control,” says Nicholson. “Don’t wait for gambling to take more than it already has.”
Leaders of the gambling industry are working on ways to collaborate with the Department of Social Development and NSFAS. This could include receiving a list of ID numbers relating to beneficiaries of SASSA or NSFAS grants. These in individuals would then be prevented from registering with online gambling websites.
There have been a number of reports about students who receive NSFAS funding and spending some of that money on gambling. However there are no detailed research studies into how prevalent this practice is. Partly because the online gambling websites themselves don't know if their customers are grant beneficiaries.
