A growing number of South African university students are using their NSFAS allowances to gamble online.
Bulelwa Hoala
According to the National Gambling Board (NGB), South Africans gambled a record R1.5 trillion last year, a 45% surge driven by easy access to online betting sites. In addition, participation rates have nearly doubled to 65.7% of adults since 2017, and the gambling industry now contributes 0.83% to South Africa’s GDP.
Unfortunately, among those who are punters are cash-strapped university students who are chasing a quick win. A growing number of university students are now using their National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances to place bets on digital platforms. The money is meant to support low-income learners by paying for food and books, but now, many young people are left broke, anxious, and on academic probation.
Phemelo spoke to Rise Mzansi MP, Makashule Gana, about the concerning report and how gambling companies continue to disregard regulations.
Gana shared that he started his fight against gambling when he arrived in parliament in 2024, and initially, people didn’t understand the magnitude of the problem.
“When I started, gambling was seen as a leisure activity. But I continued sounding the alarm bells to say people are gambling money they can’t afford to lose. Now we’ve got the students using NSFAS allowance,” Gana said.
He revealed that they have also had reports of school children/learners who are addicted to gambling.
“I would say the fight has been worth it and that we are much closer to some form of gambling reforms in South Africa, starting with advertising. I think we are very much closer to limiting the exposure to gambling,” Gana added.
According to Gana, this coming Friday, parliament is going to have a debate about the gambling crisis, which will give political parties an opportunity to share their take on the crisis.
They will use the opportunity to apply pressure to gambling operators, leading up to the responsible gambling summit set to take place on the 13th and 14th November 2025.
“They must agree that this level of advertising is just not acceptable, especially in a country like ours,” Gana said.
“Winners might know when to stop but losers don’t and more people are losing their winnings,” he added.
Listen to the full conversation below:
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