At the current rate at which South Africans gamble, it would take just seven days to spend the equivalent of the country’s entire national student funding budget of R54 billion.

The comparison illustrates the scale of gambling in South Africa, where an estimated R1,5 trillion is wagered annually through casinos, online gambling and sports betting, according to Dr Thelma Oppelt from the University of the Western Cape’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Children, Families and Society. 

Oppelt was speaking at the recent “Gambling and student wellbeing” symposium organised by the South African Association of Senior Student Affairs Professionals (SAASSAP) in partnership with Higher Health and hosted by Stellenbosch University (SU). 

The symposium brought together higher education leaders, researchers, student affairs practitioners and policymakers from around the country to examine how gambling is affecting student wellbeing, academic success and financial security.

Gambling behaviour

Jerome September, president of SAASSAP and Dean of Students at the University of the Witwatersrand, said research consistently showed that problematic gambling rates among students were higher than those found in the general adult population. The rapid growth of digital betting platforms, accessible on smartphones, had transformed gambling into an immediate, private and often seamless part of everyday student life.

However, he cautioned against viewing students who gamble simply as irresponsible or reckless. The issue, he said, needed to be understood within the broader social and economic realities many students face. “As SAASSAP, we believe that our responsibility extends beyond responding to crisis. We must anticipate emerging risk. We must create spaces for critical reflection and contribute to the development of effective institutional and sector-wide responses.”

September emphasised that the symposium was not intended to stigmatise students who gamble, but rather to understand the circumstances influencing their decisions. “If we are honest, many of the students who engage in gambling are not reckless. They are often ambitious young people,” he said. 

“These are students trying to stretch inadequate resources, students supporting families, students seeking financial independence, and students pursuing the promise that higher education offers the possibility of a better life. Yet they are also navigating a society in which stories of instant success are amplified through social media, digital advertising, influencer culture and popular narratives about wealth and opportunity.”

Chance or strategy

For many students, he said, gambling is presented not as gambling, but as opportunity; not as chance, but as strategy; not as risk, but as a potential pathway to financial freedom. “Gambling sits at the intersection of multiple student success challenges. It is not only a financial issue, but also a wellbeing issue, a mental health issue, a student development issue, and ultimately a student success issue.”

He said this was why the partnership with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) reflected growing recognition that gambling among students required proactive attention and coordinated intervention. Oppelt also emphasised that gambling was not only a student issue, nor was it endemic to NSFAS-funded students. It requires systemic solutions.

Digital landscape

SU’s Dean of Students, Dr Leslie van Rooi, said technological advances and digital accessibility had fundamentally changed the gambling environment. “Who would have thought that something that we regarded as something that you can only do in person if you walk into a room with dark windows can now become so accessible anytime on our phones, live during a sports match?”

He said student affairs practitioners, researchers and higher education leaders had a responsibility to understand these changing realities and their impact on student wellbeing, student success and the broader student experience. “This means remaining proactive rather than reactive in our efforts to create environments where students can flourish,” he said.

New technologies, more risks

Keynote speaker, Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Dr Nomusa Dube-Ncube, acknowledged the opportunities created by digital technology but warned that the same technologies have created new vulnerabilities. Many gambling platforms actively target young people, she said. She cautioned that frequent gambling could have serious consequences for students’ academic progress and wellbeing. Students may neglect their studies, miss classes, struggle to concentrate and experience declining academic performance.

“The financial losses associated with gambling can further exacerbate existing socio-economic challenges, leading some students to divert funds intended for tuition, accommodation, food and learning materials,” she said. In some cases, financial stress and related pressures had also been linked to gender-based violence. If these challenges remain unaddressed, they could increase the risk of academic exclusion, dropout and long-term negative outcomes extending beyond the university environment.

Dube-Ncube called for increased awareness and prevention programmes to educate students about the risks associated with gambling. These interventions, she said, should align with existing gambling legislation while responding to the realities of the digital age. 

Economic pressures

Lungile Dukwana, acting head of the National Gambling Board (NGB), highlighted the economic role of the gambling industry, noting its contribution to the economy and creation of more than 33 000 jobs. However, he agreed that economic pressures were among the reasons young people turn to gambling. He reaffirmed the NGB’s commitment to addressing gambling risks and highlighted the strategic partnership with NSFAS to protect students from gambling-related harm, and safeguard public funds allocated for education.

The symposium concluded that addressing gambling among students will require more than awareness campaigns alone. Universities, regulators, student leaders and support services will need to work together to understand the pressures driving gambling behaviour and strengthen interventions that protect student wellbeing and academic success. In a statement of intent, participants committed to working together on implementing programmes aimed at addressing the growing challenge.

*If you or a fellow student is struggling with gambling, financial anxiety, or academic stress, free and confidential support is available:

• SU Centre for Student Counselling and Development (CSCD) 24-hour crisis service
  • Office hours (08:00–16:00): +27 21 808 4994
  • After hours: +27 10 205 3032
  • Stellenbosch campus: 49 Victoria Street
  • Tygerberg campus: 021 927 7020
• HIGHER HEALTH 24-hour student and staff helpline
  • Toll-free helpline: 0800 36 36 36
  • SMS support: 43336