Sun International has sharply criticised a new proposal from National Treasury, warning that the plan to impose an additional tax on online gambling could make South Africa one of the most heavily taxed gambling markets in the world and undermine the stability of the legal industry.
The company’s reaction follows Treasury’s release of a discussion paper titled “The Case for a National Online Gambling Tax”, which outlines government’s intention to introduce a 20% national levy on gross gambling revenue (GGR) from online betting and any future interactive gambling activities.
If implemented, this national levy would be added on top of existing provincial gambling taxes, pushing the total tax burden for operators to between 26% and 29%. Treasury has opened the proposal for public comment.
Treasury argues that the explosive growth of online gambling—accessible “anywhere, at any time”—has outpaced current legislation, leaving major regulatory gaps and heightening risks of addiction, problem gambling, and broader social harm.
Recent figures from the National Gambling Board highlight the scale of the sector’s expansion. Gambling turnover climbed to R1.5 trillion in the 2024/25 year, up from R1.43 trillion the previous year. Betting made up three-quarters of total wagering, driven overwhelmingly by online activity. Of the R51.97 billion in betting GGR, a staggering 85.5% came from online bets.
Despite this growth, Sun International CEO Ulrik Bengtsson says the tax plan was developed without meaningful consultation with the gambling industry or key regulators.
“It’s unfortunate that Treasury did not engage the sector before publishing this proposal,” Bengtsson said. “Adding new taxes will lift South Africa into one of the highest-taxed gambling jurisdictions globally. This is on top of VAT, which South Africa uniquely applies to gambling. We cannot simply raise prices to recover these costs—operators absorb the VAT, so additional taxes will destabilise an already heavily regulated industry.”
Bengtsson warned that international experience shows higher gambling taxes often reduce, rather than increase, tax collections. According to him, higher costs for local operators will limit investment in innovation and staff, pushing customers toward offshore gambling sites.
“When players migrate to offshore platforms, they lose the protection provided by South Africa’s regulatory framework,” he said. “These operators pay no local taxes, offer no consumer safeguards, and contribute nothing to the country.”
Independent research suggests offshore operators already have a deep footprint. A 2024 report by Yield Sec identified more than 2,000 offshore gambling sites serving South African customers, siphoning an estimated R55.1 billion out of the country—an amount equal to 62% of South Africa’s online GGR in 2023/24.
Bengtsson argued that higher taxes will do nothing to curb gambling, but will instead weaken the legal industry that delivers jobs, tax revenue, and community investment.
“If government is serious about stopping the outflow of money to offshore operators, that alone could significantly boost tax income for both provincial regulators and the state,” he added.
Sun International highlighted its own economic footprint: the group employs 7,000 people, pays R1.9 billion in annual salaries, contributed nearly R400 million in PAYE in 2024, and invested R80 million in training and development. Its corporate social investment programmes reached 620,000 beneficiaries last year, with R18 million directed specifically to education.
SunBet, the company’s online betting arm, generated R65 million in gambling taxes in the first half of 2025 alone.
Bengtsson said the industry wants engagement—not confrontation.
“We strongly urge Treasury to rethink this proposal,” he said. “A stable, well-designed tax and regulatory framework—developed in consultation with stakeholders—will allow the legal industry to invest, grow and continue contributing to South Africa.”
