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The New Apartheid: How Online Gambling Is Extracting South Africa's Wealth While Destroying Communities

  • Writer: Paul Kruger
    Paul Kruger
  • Jun 18
  • 5 min read


A Dark Parallel Between Basson's Drug Strategy and Today's Gambling Epidemic

By Paul Kruger | Mental Health Professional & Community Advocate | Cape Town


The Uncomfortable Truth

In the 1980s and 1990s, Dr. Wouter "Dr. Death" Basson headed Project Coast—the apartheid government's secret chemical weapons program. His team allegedly:


  • Manufactured Mandrax, Ecstasy, and cocaine for crowd control and to suppress dissent

  • Exported/sold drugs to anti-apartheid communities, including "Basson brownies" (drug-laced items)

  • Flooded Cape Flats townships with drugs, creating cyclical damage to generations living with addiction, gangs, and violence

Today, a similar extraction mechanism is operating in the Western Cape—but this time it's online gambling.


The Numbers That Should Shock You

Metric

Statistic

Growth rate

550% increase in gambling in just 4 years [article]

2023/24 turnover

R1.14 trillion—nearly 17% of GDP [article]

Annual gross revenue

R36.9 billion (betting industry only) [article]

Market control

Betway + Hollywoodbets control 67–75% of the market [article]

Offshore profits

R1.7 billion in dividends destined for offshore trusts this year [article]

Who's losing?

63% gamble with money they can't spare [article]

This isn't entertainment. This is structural extraction from South Africa's economy.


How Gambling Controls People: The Psychology

You mentioned it perfectly: gambling is linked to fear and greed—the "old reptilian brain motivators." Here's how the industry weaponizes this:


"Addiction by Design"


The Human Cost


Who Benefits? The Western Cape Government & Political Elite

The Provincial Licensing System


The Political Money Trail

Political Figure

Connection

Martin Moshal (Betway stakeholder)

Donated R96 million to opposition parties (ActionSA, DA, IFP, BOS) since 2021 [article]

DA (Democratic Alliance)

Promoted the Remote Gambling Bill—which favors online-only companies like Betway [article]

Geordin Hill-Lewis (DA MP)

Initiated the Remote Gambling Bill in 2015 [article]

The DA claims Moshal didn't influence the bill, but the perception of potential influence is undeniable (https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/)


The Offshore Extraction Machine

Betway's South African Operation


The Global Giants Behind the Games

Anyone playing online casino games contributes to:



18% of Betway's costs go to royalties paid to these game providers—money leeched out of South Africa [article].


What This Means for the Average Gambler & Their Family

For the Individual:

  1. You're losing money designed to be lost: The house edge guarantees you'll lose 5% of every bet long-term (https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/)

  2. You're being manipulated: "VIP cashback" offers are red flags for addiction—yet Betway uses them to hook you back in (https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/)

  3. You're not alone: 63% of gamblers use money they can't really spare (https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/)

  4. Treatment is not your responsibility: Betway refused to pay for addiction treatment, saying they're "under no obligation" (https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/)


For Families:

  • Household disposable income is eroding—threatening basic needs like food, education, and housing (https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/)

  • Addiction creates cyclical damage across generations (just like apartheid's drug flooding of Cape Flats)

  • Gangs and violence follow drug/gambling addiction—Cape Flats has suffered this for decades

  • Mental health crisis: Gambling addiction links to depression, anxiety, and suicide risk (https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/)


For Communities:


🔍 The Regulatory Failure

Issue

Status


2004 National Gambling Act

Predates smartphones and online gambling entirely [https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/]


2008 amendment bill

Never signed into law []https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/


2012 proposed advertising ban

Never implemented (unlike Kenya, which bans celebrity gambling ads) [https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/]


2016 policy paper

Advised against online gambling—never translated to law [https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/]


DA Remote Gambling Bill (2015)

10 years behind industry developments; favors online-only companies [https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/]


The DA bill proposes:


This creates massive discriminatory barrier favoring Betway over companies like Hollywoodbets [https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/].


The Historical Parallel: Apartheid Drugs vs. Modern Gambling

Aspect

Apartheid Drug Strategy (Basson)

Modern Online Gambling

Primary goal

Suppress dissent, control population

Extract wealth from low-income communities

Target population

Anti-apartheid communities, Cape Flats

Low-income South Africans (63% using money they can't spare)

Mechanism

Manufacture drugs + sell to dealers

Algorithmic "addiction by design" + aggressive marketing

Extraction

Profits to apartheid state

R1.7 billion dividends to offshore trusts

Political cover

State security apparatus

R96 million in political donations to opposition parties

Regulatory failure

State secrecy

2004 Act predating the industry

Long-term damage

Cyclical addiction, gangs, violence across generations

Same pattern: addiction eroding household income, mental health crisis

Denial

"Drugs were destroyed, none reached streets"

"Responsible gambling is at the core of our operations"


What Can Be Done?

Immediate Actions Needed:

  1. Ban gambling advertising (like tobacco)—including sports sponsorship and billboards [https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/]

  2. Implement "sin tax" comparable to tobacco sector (currently only 6.5%) [https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/]

  3. Harmonize national regulatory approach to prevent "forum shopping" by operators []

  4. https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/Mandate treatment funding for gambling addicts (Betway refused to pay) [https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/]

  5. Ban in-play betting—the most addictive form [https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/]

  6. Require local investment/job creation from licensees [https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/]


What You Can Do:

  • Spread awareness: Share this article with your network

  • Support addiction services: National Responsible Gambling Programme hotline

  • Contact your MP: Demand updated gambling legislation

  • Protect your family: Set strict gambling limits or avoid entirely


Final Thought

The apartheid government used Basson's drugs to flood Cape Flats and control a population. Today, online gambling is flooding the same communities—and across South Africa—with a 550% growth rate of extraction.


The house always wins. You always lose.

The only difference: Basson's drugs were state-secret weapons. Today's gambling addiction

is advertised on free Wi-Fi in Home Affairs offices (until public outcry removed it) [https://amabhungane.org/south-africas-bad-bet/].


This isn't coincidence. This is systematic extraction enabled by regulatory failure, political donations, and cynical business practices.


The question is: Will we wake up before another generation is destroyed?

If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling addiction, contact the National Responsible Gambling Programme hotline. Treatment is not optional—it's essential.


Share this post if you believeSouth Africans need to understand the true cost of online gambling.


What's your experience with gambling? Have you seen the impact on your family or community?


About the author: Paul Kruger is a mental health professional based in Cape Town with expertise in neurodevelopmental disorders, community wellness, and psychoeducation. He works to bridge scientific knowledge with real-world applications for vulnerable communities.


 
 
 

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