The National Gambling Board (NGB) in collaboration with African iGaming Alliance (AiA) will join African gambling regulators and gambling industry stakeholders across the African continent in observing Africa Safer Gambling Week from 7 to 11 September 2026, as part of a collective effort to strengthen responsible gambling, player protection and public awareness across African gambling markets.
Organized with the Association of iGaming Africa (AiA), Africa Safer Gambling Week provides a continent-wide platform for responsible gambling awareness and greater collaboration between regulators, operators and other stakeholders. The initiative seeks to strengthen player protection through public awareness, regulatory cooperation, greater use of responsible gambling tools and evidence-based interventions.
For the NGB, participation in the initiative goes beyond marking an awareness week. It provides an opportunity to strengthen the conversation about how players are protected as gambling markets evolve, technology changes how people access gambling and illegal operators increasingly use digital platforms to reach consumers.
It also reinforces the importance of cooperation across African jurisdictions. While gambling is regulated within national legal frameworks, many of the challenges confronting regulators, including harmful gambling behavior, underage gambling, digital advertising and illegal online gambling, are increasingly shared challenges.
Acting Chief Executive Officer of the NGB, Mr Lungile Dukwana, said Africa Safer Gambling Week provides an important platform for regulators and the industry to place player protection at the center of the conversation about the future of gambling on the continent.
“As gambling markets continue to evolve, player protection must evolve with them. Africa Safer Gambling Week gives us an opportunity not only to educate the public about safer gambling, but also to strengthen cooperation and share approaches across the continent. Gambling must remain a form of entertainment and should never be regarded as a source of income or a solution to financial difficulty. Our responsibility is to ensure that as the sector develops, the protection of players remains central to that development.”
The NGB encourages people who choose to gamble to do so within their means. Players should set financial and time limits, never gamble with money required for essential household needs and never chase losses. Gambling should remain entertainment, not a means of generating income.
For young people, the message is equally clear: do not use someone else’s gambling account, ask an adult to gamble on your behalf or lie about your age to access gambling.
Player protection also includes knowing where and with whom you are gambling. Members of the public are encouraged to gamble only with licensed operators and to use the National Gambling Board’s (NGB) Verified Gambling Operators Web Portal to verify whether an operator is licensed to operate in South Africa.
Where gambling becomes difficult to control, individuals can use self-exclusion to restrict their access to gambling. A person may request self-exclusion through a licensed operator, PLA or NGB and should not attempt to bypass the restriction by opening another account. People experiencing gambling-related difficulties can also access free counseling and support through the National Responsible Gambling Programme.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL GAMBLING BOARD
The National Gambling Board (NGB), an agency of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), was established in terms of the National Gambling Act, Act No 33 of 1996 which was repealed on 01 November 2004 by the National Gambling Act, 2004 (Act No 71 of 2004) (the Act).
The Act makes provision for the oversight of matters relating to casinos, bingo, betting and wagering and Limited Payout Machines (LPMs), and promotes uniform norms and standards in relation to gambling throughout South Africa.
The strength of the NGB is informed by multiple decades of regulating a gambling industry which was fragmented with low credibility from the pre-1994 era. Its performance outcome is an effectively regulated and continuously supervised gambling industry, which is a significant accomplishment through statutory national and international industry reputation.
The NGB is a regulatory authority with compliance and consequence enforcement and is a regulator that acts based on the National Gambling Act and its statutes. The NGB provides a stable environment within which the gambling industry can grow its operations for the benefit of all.
Additionally, the NGB prioritises broad-based public education around illegal gambling and responsible gambling in the best interest of the South African public, balancing a capable state, with the economic growth of the industry and social cohesion.
Vision
To position South Africa as the pre-eminent jurisdiction with an exemplary and effectively regulated gambling industry.
Mission
Lead the regulation of the gambling industry in the fulfillment of the National Gambling Act, 2004, through an effectively regulated and supervised gambling industry that upholds domestic, continental and internationally recognized standards of compliance.
