The Free Market Foundation (FMF) has issued a strong condemnation of the South African National Treasury’s proposal to introduce a 20% tax on online gambling revenue. The FMF argues that the tax would undermine provincial authority (as gambling is currently regulated at the provincial level), overburden legal operators, and drive consumers towards unregulated offshore platforms. The Treasury is pushing the tax as a measure to curb problem gambling and contribute to public funds, citing that South Africans wagered over R1.5-trillion in 2025.
“The assumption that it would be possible to enforce a tax on offshore platforms despite the absence of any mechanism or enforcement infrastructure is fundamentally flawed. This centralisation of fiscal authority undermines the autonomy of PGBs and raises serious constitutional questions.” — Ayanda Zulu, FMF Policy Officer
