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# Sun International is trying to get ahead of South Africa's gambling problem, before Treasury's tax does it for them
- URL: https://www.businessbagel.com/sun-international-gambling-ad-charter-online-betting/
- Published: 2026-10-15T03:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T03:29:59.000Z
- Description: The casino group has launched a voluntary charter limiting its ads and blocking declared grant recipients, as Treasury weighs a 20% tax on a betting market that has grown almost fivefold in five years.
- Author: Christian Maidman
- Tags: Companies, Business Bagel News, #big, #trending

You don't have to look far to find a gambling ad in South Africa. Betting brands sponsor rugby, fill billboards and, according to the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation, turn up inside banking apps. And business is booming. South Africans wagered about R1.5 trillion in 2024/25, according to National Gambling Board figures cited by Treasury, and what bookmakers kept after paying out winnings grew almost fivefold in five years, from about R10.6 billion to R52 billion. More than 85% of that is now made online.

## A growing problem, and a tax aimed at it

That growth has brought concern with it, about addiction and about how much gambling advertising people see, especially young people. The share of South Africans who gamble went from 30.6% in 2017 to 65.7% in 2023, and the National Gambling Board has told Parliament's trade committee it is alarmed at young people's exposure, citing campaigns with younger-looking models aimed at vulnerable audiences.

Government's response is a proposed 20% national tax on online betting revenue, on top of what provinces already charge. Treasury says the main aim is to discourage problem gambling. Rather conveniently, the tax would also bring in more than R10 billion a year.

## Sun International's charter

With heavier taxes hanging over the industry, Sun International, one of South Africa's biggest gambling operators and the owner of Sunbet, is trying to show it can take responsibility for its own customers. On Tuesday it launched a voluntary gambling charter. It keeps the group's scheduled gambling ads off air from 6am to 8am and from noon to 6pm, to limit what children see over the school run and after school, and its online sign-up form will block anyone who selects a Sassa grant or NSFAS funding as their source of income.

## Where the promises stop

The restrictions aren't quite as comprehensive as they sound. The ad limits leave evenings untouched, when most people are watching sport and placing bets. They cover ads booked into time slots, while social media, search, push notifications and email fall under separate standards the charter does not spell out.

The grant block relies entirely on customers declaring their income honestly, and as Business Day pointed out, the industry has no access to grant recipients' records. The charter itself also says it creates no legally enforceable obligations to any player.

## Making the case against the tax

Sun has plenty riding on online betting. Sunbet's income grew by about three quarters in 2025, to R2.1 billion, according to Business Day. Chief executive Ulrik Bengtsson used the launch to warn that rules or taxes that make licensed operators less competitive "will push players towards platforms where they have no protection", meaning unregulated offshore betting sites.

The tax is still a proposal. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has said any formal version would likely come in the 2027 Budget, and until then the charter could help strengthen Sun's case for a different approach to regulation. Whether voluntary measures make much difference to South Africa's growing gambling problem is another question.