South Africa Links Gambling Ad Rules to New Bill Push

South Africa is preparing another gambling policy reset. The government is working on a new bill while advertising controls move closer to licence conditions.

Gambling advertising in South Africa could face tighter rules under the next reform package. Parks Tau, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, said that the National Gambling Policy Council had endorsed the fast-tracking of a bill dealing with wider industry issues.

Ad Rules Move Into Licensing

Meanwhile, the matter of advertising is being tackled simultaneously. Tau said the National Gambling Board is developing norms and standards in collaboration with Provincial Licensing Authorities, with the intention of making them licensing conditions.

This would give regulators a clearer framework for dealing with operators whose advertising is seen as excessive or inappropriate. It would also reduce the existing disparity between the national policy and provincial implementation of this policy.

Policy Council Returns to Work

The NGPC has had two meetings since 1 July 2025: on 8 July 2025 and on 30 October 2025. These meetings included discussions about the impact of gambling, the regulatory gap, and the role of advertisements in encouraging people to gamble. As a result, it was decided that the council should expedite the drafting of the bill.

A Gambling Technical Committee has also been established. It will be reviewing the National Gambling Amendment Bill, 2018 to assess how the National Gambling Act and provincial laws can be addressed more effectively for stronger policy cohesion and enforcement.

This is particularly relevant for South Africa because gambling regulation has a dual structure at the national and provincial levels. This structure can make consistent enforcement harder, especially when online products and advertising are treated differently across provinces.

Bill May Reach Cabinet This Year

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has been reviewing the gambling law since October 2025. Tau said a policy document will guide the drafting of the bill, which is expected to be tabled in Cabinet later this year.

At the same time, the department is preparing advertising regulations to strengthen section 15 of the National Gambling Act and Regulation 3 of the National Gambling Regulations, 2004. The focus is not only on illegal operators. The proposed rules also target how licensed gambling brands present their products, where ads appear, and whether responsible gambling warnings are visible enough.

Illegal Market Adds Pressure

The call for reform is taking place amidst the pressure on South Africa due to illegal online gambling. SABA estimates that unlicensed offshore operators account for nearly two-thirds of South Africa’s online gambling activity and divert more than R50 billion in gross gambling revenue offshore each year.

This figure highlights the reason for the broadening of the policy discussion. The authorities are now not just focusing on enforcement but also on advertising and licensing conditions among other issues.

Expert View

South Africa’s reform test will be practical enforcement. New advertising standards can help, but only if they are applied in the same way across provinces. The bill may give the government a stronger legal base. The harder task will be turning that base into consistent rules for operators, advertisers and regulators.