Online betting advertising spend soars

Sports betting has officially gone mainstream in South Africa and the numbers show it’s not just about punting anymore, but about power, presence, and precision in marketing.

For the 12 months to March 2025, combined advertising spend by gambling and sports betting brands in South Africa reached a staggering R2.6 billion. That’s more than many of the country’s traditional heavyweight sectors, like telecommunications, invested in the same period.

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The biggest driver? Sports betting bookmakers, led by Hollywood Bets, Betway, and World Sports Betting, which collectively outspent casino-based gambling advertisers.

Hollywood Bets alone poured over R775 million into advertising in the past financial year, while Betway spent R342 million and World Sports Betting came in at just under R140 million.

Together, these three brands alone accounted for nearly R1.3 billion in spend, a sign of just how ferociously competitive the landscape has become.

In fact, sports betting brands now account for more than 60% of all ad spend in the gambling category.

Casino and lottery operators like Opulen Gaming and Ithuba Holdings (operator of the national lottery) also spent heavily – R400 million and R263 million respectively, but the momentum clearly favours digital-first, mobile-savvy bookmakers who are chasing high reach and brand recall across platforms.

The real story, however, lies behind the raw numbers. In media buying, it’s frequent practice to apply discounting to get a more realistic sense of actual spend – and applying an estimated 50% effective rate discount, we arrive at a more realistic R1.3 billion in net investment. Even so, this remains a formidable outlay and signals serious intent from betting brands to entrench themselves in the consumer’s psyche.

Crucially, digital advertising is capturing a big slice of this budget.

While sector-specific splits are opaque, it’s safe to assume between 35% and 50% of the R2.6 billion went to digital channels, whether programmatic display, paid social, search, influencer campaigns or app promotion.

That means over R900 million may have gone to online media alone, underscoring the pivot away from legacy TV and print toward precision-targeted mobile users.

Read: Google ordered to let Lottoland advertise

Why such aggressive spend? For one, the sector is experiencing high growth. Year-on-year comparisons show strong gains in 2024 over 2023, reflecting both consumer appetite and regulatory leeway.

South Africans, particularly young urban males, are embracing sports betting as part of their entertainment mix, and brands are responding with heavy investment in visibility, sponsorships, and seamless mobile betting experiences.

There’s also a battle for brand dominance. In a market with low switching costs, top-of-mind awareness is everything.

That’s why the ad budgets are so high: it’s not just about acquisition, but retention and habitual engagement.

Still, the boom is not without concern. Critics warn about the potential social costs of such aggressive gambling promotion, especially given the economic strain many South Africans are under.

But for now, the advertising arms race among sports betting brands shows no sign of slowing down.

Whether you see it as an economic opportunity or an ethical minefield, one thing is clear: betting brands are betting big on South Africa, and for now, the odds are in their favour.

Listen to Jimmy Moyaha’s interview with Saica’s Lesedi Seforo in this SAfm Market Update with Moneyweb podcast (or read the transcript here):

You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.

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