In the National Gambling Board's (NGB) 2023 survey, 31% of South Africans who gamble scored as problem gamblers, up from 5.8% in 2017. Few of them would use that label. Instead, the harm creeps in through a bank balance, a mood or a missed commitment long before anyone calls it addiction.
Money, time, mood and relationships show the clearest gambling addiction symptoms. Local betting apps add a few twists of their own. Once you've spotted the signs of gambling addiction, a short self-check can flag the problem, while a free assessment shows how serious it has become.
Not sure whether it's a problem? The National Responsible Gambling Programme (NRGP) offers free, confidential assessments. Call 0800 006 008 or WhatsApp 076 675 0710 at any hour.
Doctors treat gambling disorder as a mental health condition
Clinicians use the term gambling disorder for gambling addiction. The American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual, the DSM-5, sets out nine criteria. Doctors diagnose the disorder when someone meets at least four within 12 months.
Those criteria include bigger bets for the same thrill, irritability when a person tries to cut back, repeated failed attempts to stop, chasing losses, lies about gambling, and reliance on others to cover debts.
The count sets the severity too. Four or five criteria mean a mild disorder, six or seven a moderate one, and eight or nine a severe one.
Internationally, the World Health Organization lists gambling disorder in its disease classification, the ICD-11, under code 6C50 and defines it by impaired control and continued play despite harm. Compulsive gambling is the everyday term for this pattern, whereas problem gambling covers a wider band of harm.
Closer to home, South African medical aid claims still use the older ICD-10. Since January 2005, the law has required every healthcare provider to add an ICD-10 code to claims. In that system, pathological gambling is F63.0.
Because that code can appear on medical aid statements, ask the practitioner how they'll record a visit if privacy matters.
Warning signs show up in money, time, mood, and relationships
Look across all four areas, since gambling addiction symptoms rarely appear one at a time. Pay closest attention when several shift at once.
Area
Signs to watch for
Money
Missing cash, unexplained loans or new credit accounts, unpaid bills, household items that disappear, salary that vanishes within days of payday
Time
Phone bets during family time, late nights, lost time at work or study, constant score checks, sessions that go on longer than the person meant
Mood
Irritability when unable to bet, highs after wins, low mood or anxiety after losses, guilt and secrecy
Relationships
Lies about where money went, withdrawal from family, arguments about money, missed commitments, defensiveness when asked
The table works just as well when you're worried about someone close, although family members usually spot the money and mood changes first.
Betting apps and slots speed up harm in South Africa
Online betting has overtaken the betting shop. In the NGB's 2023 survey, 46% of gamblers bet online on sport and other events, more than double the 22% who bet at retail outlets. Problem gamblers lean even further online, at 50%.
Four formats common in South Africa make losses pile up faster.
Live in-play betting: Odds update throughout a match, so one game can turn into dozens of bets within minutes.
Push notifications and app deposits: Offers pop up at any hour, and once they do, instant deposits remove the pause of a trip to the bookmaker once forced.
Lucky Numbers and live draws: Bookmakers offer number draws around the clock, some every three minutes. Lucky draws pull in more than half of problem gamblers, 56% in the NGB survey.
Slot-style games and LPMs: Fast rounds keep online sessions going long after a planned stop, and one in five low-income gamblers in the NGB survey played the limited payout machines found in bars and taverns.
Nearly all of them shrink the time between bets and leave less room to stop and think. For phone-based betting, blocking software puts that pause back.
Offshore and crypto casinos work a little differently. They fall outside South Africa's provincial licensing system, so the national self-exclusion register doesn't reach them. Crypto deposits also clear faster than most bank transfers.
Many of these sites offer their own deposit limits, reality checks and cool-off periods. Switch them on before the first deposit.
A two-question check is a quick first step
Counsellors often start with the Lie/Bet screen, a quick check for a possible gambling problem. Researchers created it in 1997, and it asks just two questions. The name comes from the warning signs they cover (lies and bigger bets).
Have you ever felt the need to bet more and more money?
Have you ever had to lie to people important to you about how much you gambled?
If the answer to either question is yes, a fuller assessment is worth arranging.
For a broader picture, try the free self-screening tool from the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation (SARGF). This gambling addiction test asks ten questions about spending, chasing losses, borrowing, and guilt.
Gamblers Anonymous offers a longer option, its 20 Questions, for personal reflection. Still, none of these screens can diagnose gambling disorder. Only a trained professional can do that.
Common myths keep losses going
Faulty beliefs about luck and odds explain why so many people play on after their money has dried up. Five of them come up again and again.
"A win is due." Each spin, draw, or match result stands alone. Past losses don't make the next bet any likelier to pay. Psychologists call this belief the gambler's fallacy.
"This slot is hot." Random number generators keep no memory of earlier rounds, so no machine warms up or cools down.
"My system beats the bookies." Tips, prediction apps and staking systems can't change the odds. Take a system that doubles the stake after each loss. Ten straight losses from an R10 start would demand an R10,240 bet. GroundUp's guide to common betting myths covers other strategies that fail.
"That was so close." Near misses feel like progress, yet they count as losses. Brain imaging research even found that near misses activate win-related reward circuits and strengthen the urge to play on.
"I only bet small amounts." Low stakes add up fast on quick-fire draws. At R20 a draw every three minutes, three hours of live draws puts R1,200 on the line.
The maths works against all of these beliefs. Across the 2024/25 market, operators kept about R5 of every R100 staked, by our own calculation from National Gambling Board turnover and revenue figures. Winnings usually go straight back into play, where that margin bites again on each round.
Four groups of risk factors raise the chances of gambling harm
Myths explain why losses continue, but the causes of gambling addiction usually overlap.
Some causes start within the person. Impulsive people and thrill-seekers face a higher risk, as do people who bet to escape stress. Other causes come from outside. Friends who bet together, nonstop adverts, and money worries can all make one big win look like the answer.
Biology plays a part too, since some brains respond more strongly to winning and addiction tends to cluster in families.
South African treatment data backs up the family link. When the SARGF asked clients about their families in 2023/24, more than one in four said a relative had a gambling problem.
Other conditions often come alongside gambling disorder. Researchers who pooled population surveys in a 2025 meta-analysis found that eight in ten people with the disorder had at least one other mental health condition. Substance use, mood and anxiety disorders each affected roughly a third.
In South Africa, income and age add to the risk. The NGB research found that two in three problem gamblers earned under R9,000 a month, and 55% were 25 to 34 years old. Participants in the study's focus groups described gambling as a way to cope with hardship.
Harm often builds gradually, though not in fixed stages
In 1984, sociologist Henry Lesieur and psychiatrist Robert Custer described three phases in the progression of pathological gambling.
Winning phase: Early wins bring excitement and confidence. Stakes start to climb.
Losing phase: Losses mount, the person chases them, borrows, and hides how deep the problem goes.
Desperation phase: Debt, broken relationships, and trouble at work pile up, until some people start to think about escape or suicide.
Anyone who feels that way can call the SADAG Suicide Crisis Helpline on 0800 567 567, day or night. The model helps explain why harm feels gradual. Even so, people don't all move through it in order. Some develop problems quickly, while others never have the early big win at all.
Clear signs mean it's time to reach out
Whichever pattern fits, help is easy to reach. The NRGP's free assessment needs no referral. Treatment through its network costs nothing either. Counsellors screen the level of risk and, if necessary, refer callers to a treatment professional nearby.
Some people prefer to take the first steps alone, and that works too. Blocking tools, an urge plan, and tighter money controls make stopping gambling easier while support falls into place.
Either way, early help tends to mean smaller debts and less damage at home, which makes the first signs the best time to act.
Sources
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edn. Gambling disorder criteria summary, Nevada Council on Problem Gambling.
It's a loss of control over gambling that continues despite harm to money, work, or relationships. Heavy recreational betting differs because the person can still stop at will. Someone who bets big but walks away after a loss doesn't meet the criteria. In short, control matters more than the size of the stakes.
Yes, it has a formal diagnosis. In 2013, the DSM-5 moved gambling disorder into its addictions chapter, alongside alcohol and drug use disorders. Earlier editions grouped it with impulse-control problems. Studies found similar effects on the brain's reward system and on response to treatment, which drove the change.
Many South Africans already have. Online bookmaker betting was the main form of gambling for roughly half of SARGF clients in 2023/24 (960 of 1,906). Live in-play markets and fixtures every day of the week give sports bettors far more chances to bet than a weekly lottery draw. The results come within hours.
Take the Problem Gambling Severity Index, where a score of 8 or more suggests a problem. South African researchers rely on its nine questions, which cover the past 12 months. Scores of 3 to 7 point to moderate risk and 1 or 2 to low risk, while a counsellor's assessment gives the final answer.
Genes, personality, and surroundings combine, and genes play a bigger part than most people expect. One study of 3,359 twin pairs found that inherited factors explained 35% to 54% of the risk of gambling problems. That said, family history raises the odds without making addiction inevitable for any one person.
Less than many people assume. Women made up half of problem gamblers in the NGB's latest survey, which means the image of a lone male sports bettor misses many cases. The warning signs apply equally to everyone, whatever their gender, age, or game. Secret betting on a phone looks the same whoever holds it.
Discussion, comments and your experiences
Share your opinion, ask a question or advise others. Editors reply as availability allows. For a quick response, use the chat.
Signs and symptoms of gambling addiction
In the National Gambling Board's (NGB) 2023 survey, 31% of South Africans who gamble scored as problem gamblers, up from 5.8% in 2017. Few of them would use that label. Instead, the harm creeps in through a bank balance, a mood or a missed commitment long before anyone calls it addiction.
Money, time, mood and relationships show the clearest gambling addiction symptoms. Local betting apps add a few twists of their own. Once you've spotted the signs of gambling addiction, a short self-check can flag the problem, while a free assessment shows how serious it has become.
Not sure whether it's a problem?
The National Responsible Gambling Programme (NRGP) offers free, confidential assessments.
Call 0800 006 008 or WhatsApp 076 675 0710 at any hour.
Doctors treat gambling disorder as a mental health condition
Clinicians use the term gambling disorder for gambling addiction. The American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual, the DSM-5, sets out nine criteria. Doctors diagnose the disorder when someone meets at least four within 12 months.
Those criteria include bigger bets for the same thrill, irritability when a person tries to cut back, repeated failed attempts to stop, chasing losses, lies about gambling, and reliance on others to cover debts.
The count sets the severity too. Four or five criteria mean a mild disorder, six or seven a moderate one, and eight or nine a severe one.
Internationally, the World Health Organization lists gambling disorder in its disease classification, the ICD-11, under code 6C50 and defines it by impaired control and continued play despite harm. Compulsive gambling is the everyday term for this pattern, whereas problem gambling covers a wider band of harm.
Closer to home, South African medical aid claims still use the older ICD-10. Since January 2005, the law has required every healthcare provider to add an ICD-10 code to claims. In that system, pathological gambling is F63.0.
Because that code can appear on medical aid statements, ask the practitioner how they'll record a visit if privacy matters.
Warning signs show up in money, time, mood, and relationships
Look across all four areas, since gambling addiction symptoms rarely appear one at a time. Pay closest attention when several shift at once.
Area
Signs to watch for
Money
Missing cash, unexplained loans or new credit accounts, unpaid bills, household items that disappear, salary that vanishes within days of payday
Time
Phone bets during family time, late nights, lost time at work or study, constant score checks, sessions that go on longer than the person meant
Mood
Irritability when unable to bet, highs after wins, low mood or anxiety after losses, guilt and secrecy
Relationships
Lies about where money went, withdrawal from family, arguments about money, missed commitments, defensiveness when asked
The table works just as well when you're worried about someone close, although family members usually spot the money and mood changes first.
Betting apps and slots speed up harm in South Africa
Online betting has overtaken the betting shop. In the NGB's 2023 survey, 46% of gamblers bet online on sport and other events, more than double the 22% who bet at retail outlets. Problem gamblers lean even further online, at 50%.
Four formats common in South Africa make losses pile up faster.
Nearly all of them shrink the time between bets and leave less room to stop and think. For phone-based betting, blocking software puts that pause back.
Offshore and crypto casinos work a little differently. They fall outside South Africa's provincial licensing system, so the national self-exclusion register doesn't reach them. Crypto deposits also clear faster than most bank transfers.
Many of these sites offer their own deposit limits, reality checks and cool-off periods. Switch them on before the first deposit.
A two-question check is a quick first step
Counsellors often start with the Lie/Bet screen, a quick check for a possible gambling problem. Researchers created it in 1997, and it asks just two questions. The name comes from the warning signs they cover (lies and bigger bets).
If the answer to either question is yes, a fuller assessment is worth arranging.
For a broader picture, try the free self-screening tool from the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation (SARGF). This gambling addiction test asks ten questions about spending, chasing losses, borrowing, and guilt.
Gamblers Anonymous offers a longer option, its 20 Questions, for personal reflection. Still, none of these screens can diagnose gambling disorder. Only a trained professional can do that.
Common myths keep losses going
Faulty beliefs about luck and odds explain why so many people play on after their money has dried up. Five of them come up again and again.
The maths works against all of these beliefs. Across the 2024/25 market, operators kept about R5 of every R100 staked, by our own calculation from National Gambling Board turnover and revenue figures. Winnings usually go straight back into play, where that margin bites again on each round.
Four groups of risk factors raise the chances of gambling harm
Myths explain why losses continue, but the causes of gambling addiction usually overlap.
Some causes start within the person. Impulsive people and thrill-seekers face a higher risk, as do people who bet to escape stress. Other causes come from outside. Friends who bet together, nonstop adverts, and money worries can all make one big win look like the answer.
Biology plays a part too, since some brains respond more strongly to winning and addiction tends to cluster in families.
South African treatment data backs up the family link. When the SARGF asked clients about their families in 2023/24, more than one in four said a relative had a gambling problem.
Other conditions often come alongside gambling disorder. Researchers who pooled population surveys in a 2025 meta-analysis found that eight in ten people with the disorder had at least one other mental health condition. Substance use, mood and anxiety disorders each affected roughly a third.
In South Africa, income and age add to the risk. The NGB research found that two in three problem gamblers earned under R9,000 a month, and 55% were 25 to 34 years old. Participants in the study's focus groups described gambling as a way to cope with hardship.
Harm often builds gradually, though not in fixed stages
In 1984, sociologist Henry Lesieur and psychiatrist Robert Custer described three phases in the progression of pathological gambling.
Anyone who feels that way can call the SADAG Suicide Crisis Helpline on 0800 567 567, day or night. The model helps explain why harm feels gradual. Even so, people don't all move through it in order. Some develop problems quickly, while others never have the early big win at all.
Clear signs mean it's time to reach out
Whichever pattern fits, help is easy to reach. The NRGP's free assessment needs no referral. Treatment through its network costs nothing either. Counsellors screen the level of risk and, if necessary, refer callers to a treatment professional nearby.
Some people prefer to take the first steps alone, and that works too. Blocking tools, an urge plan, and tighter money controls make stopping gambling easier while support falls into place.
Either way, early help tends to mean smaller debts and less damage at home, which makes the first signs the best time to act.
Sources
All online sources accessed 14 October 2026.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Discussion, comments and your experiences
Share your opinion, ask a question or advise others. Editors reply as availability allows. For a quick response, use the chat.
Write a comment