World gambling statistics show that around 26% of the population gamble. That means around 1.6 billion people worldwide gamble and 4.2 billion gamble at least once every year.

Despite being the home of Las Vegas, Americans are a distant third on $505.44 per capita, with Ireland and its liberal approach to gambling next on $490.39. The UK, with legal land-based.
The casino doesn’t pay $5 when they mix you a drink. Their cost for that shot of Crown on the rocks is probably closer to $1. The meal at the buffet that the public pays $15 for probably only cost the restaurant $5 to make. And a hotel room that’s sitting empty generates no money for the casino at all, so they might as well give it away.
Casino money also acts as a magnet for corruption, and for many years 'casino owner' was synonymous with 'Mafia boss.' As the casino business in Nevada expanded in the 1950s, owners sought funds to finance expansion and renovation in hopes of drawing even more Americans to the strip.
Furthermore, the share of people who visit casinos without gambling at all, for the sake of fun and new experience seems to grow with every generation. During the 2014 survey, 51% of the responding US Millennials vs 15% of Matures admitted they had visited a casino and not gambled but spent money on non-gaming amenities such as food and beverages.

During the festive season, as it does every year, the National Credit Regulator (NCR) warned South Africans to watch their money carefully. This advice covers spending for holiday gifts, spending for purely personal enjoyment such as high end restaurants or travel, and, perhaps, especially, when revelers want to gamble on anything from sports to slots to other casino games.

The NCR especially warns citizens not to borrow money from loan sharks. These predators charge exorbitant interest rates on loans and are less than charitable if you have some difficulty in paying back the loan.

Online Casinos, Money, and Responsibility

One place where it’s almost impossible to fall into this trap is at an online casino where you can’t bet real money unless you’ve put the money in your casino account.

In its press release, the NCR referred people to the Responsible Gambling Association which has as its charter calling to help people avoid problem gambling and to help those who have fallen into that trap to get out of it.

Changes in Gambling Laws

Gambling in general has been made easier, legal, and safer in several African nations. It remains to be seen if South Africa will become one of those countries. Land based casinos have been a staple of the South African gambling culture for some time. Online casinos continue to vie for a place in the South African gambling sphere.

Confusion Since 2004

Technically, online gambling is illegal in South Africa despite the clear cut fact that so many South African punters play at online casinos. It all began in 2004 with the passage of the National Gambling Act (NGA). The law also created a regulatory body called the National Gambling Board or NGB.

The law required the NGB to set up an investigative committee to determine how online gambling could be implemented. The law itself established rules governing land based casinos, called venues, sports betting, and other legal “premises” where slot machines and other gambling machines might legally be set up. The law left the idea of online gambling open and assigned the NGB to research the idea.

The government has dragged its feet since then. A commission was formed in 2008 to further investigate online gambling but, despite a report from the commission in 2010 suggesting that online gambling be allowed, the general government, led by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, has put legalization of online gambling on the back burner.

Legal Gambling

Some gambling remains legal in South Africa:

Lotteries
Sports betting
Bingo
Land based casinos
Horse racing
Limited-pay machines. These machines are limited to paying out R500 on a single bet.

How Many People Spend Money In Casinos

New Limited Pay Machine Rules

The same Rob Davies mentioned above announced implementation of the National Central Electronic Monitoring System (NCEMS) on 18 December last. The new system is designed to monitor every one of the 25000 existing limited pay machines. Players will be helped because the system will corroborate complaints of a machine malfunction. Machine operators will also be benefited because the new system will make machines more efficient and will cut costs.

Improvements in the limited pay machine business are also expected to increase the number of players betting through these machines. Advocates of the machines say that the limited payouts make gambling there more of a social event rather than a cold gambling event. Wagers are small and winnings are commensurately small.

How Many People Spend Money In Casino

The system that the NCEMS will replace was said to be very outdated with no proper way to adjudicate players’ complaints. The new system will also increase employment for thousands of South Africans.

Online Gambling

This brings the news reports back full circle to online gambling. The NGB is still supposed to determine the feasibility of regulating online casinos. South Africans continue to gamble at online casinos. If online gambling were fully regulated in South Africa, it would also generate jobs and tax revenue for the government.

The government warns citizens every year about borrowing money from unscrupulous lenders. It seemingly ignores the safest way to gamble which is at an online casino. Perhaps 2018 will bring good news for citizens and online casino players and operators.