Key Takeaways

  • South Africa recorded a 32.3% monthly online gambling participation rate among internet users aged 16 and older.
  • Ghana recorded 21.5%, while Nigeria registered 18%, placing both among the survey’s top 10 markets.
  • The rankings use GWI survey data collected during the second quarter of 2025.
  • The figures measure website and app visits, not gambling expenditure or the prevalence of gambling-related harm.

South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria ranked among the countries with the highest online gambling participation rates in a survey covering 48 markets, according to a report published by Business Insider Africa on October 26. The data found that 32.3% of South African internet users aged 16 and older had visited an online gambling or betting website or app during the previous month. Ghana recorded 21.5%, while Nigeria stood at 18%. South Africa ranked first among the surveyed markets, with Ghana and Nigeria also appearing in the top 10.

South Africa Leads As Ghana And Nigeria Enter The Top 10

According to Business Insider Africa’s report, South Africa recorded the highest monthly online gambling participation rate among 48 surveyed markets. Norway followed at 31.2%, while Greece recorded 25.8% and New Zealand reached 24%. Ghana ranked fifth at 21.5%, tying with Hungary. Nigeria placed 10th at 18%, alongside Australia. The figures put three African countries among the highest-ranked markets in the survey, although the results alone do not explain why participation differs between countries.

The figures come from GWI data published in the Digital 2026 Global Overview Report. The survey measures the percentage of internet users aged 16 and older who visited an online gambling or betting website or app during the preceding month. That definition matters when interpreting the ranking. South Africa’s 32.3% figure does not mean that nearly one-third of its entire population gambles online.

While visiting a betting platform does not necessarily mean someone placed a wager, the data also does not establish how much users spend, how often they gamble or whether they experience financial difficulties. It provides a snapshot of reported online activity during the survey period, rather than a complete measure of gambling behaviour in each country.

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South Africa’s Gambling Industry Provides Additional Context

The participation ranking comes as South Africa’s gambling industry faces scrutiny over its size, advertising and regulation. Separate figures from the country’s National Gambling Board provide a financial perspective, although they measure different activity from the GWI survey. According to the National Gambling Board’s published statistics, the country’s gambling industry recorded approximately R1.5 trillion in turnover during the 2024/25 financial year. The South African National Treasury’s discussion paper on a proposed national online gambling tax also discusses the scale of the sector and the challenges associated with regulating online gambling.

Turnover refers to the value wagered, not the amount gambling operators retain as revenue. It should therefore not be compared directly with the percentage of internet users who visited betting websites or apps. South Africa’s figures also cannot automatically be applied to Ghana or Nigeria. Each country has its own regulatory framework and gambling market, and the GWI participation data does not identify the factors behind the differences between them.

For now, the survey shows that online gambling and betting platforms were accessed by a relatively large share of internet users in these markets during the period measured. Additional country-specific data would be needed to determine how participation has changed since the survey, how much users spend and what role regulation or advertising plays in their activity.