Students wager NSFAS allowances and their futures at online betting sites

Some students at tertiary education institutions have been using their National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances to bet at online sites. This has led many down a path of distress and darkness.

Last year, according to the National Gambling Board’s report for the 2023/24 financial year, R1.1-trillion was wagered in the South African gambling industry — 40.2% more than the previous financial year.

Driven primarily by its increasing digital accessibility, betting has seen a significant year-on-year growth of 45.7%. This contributed to a massive increase in the nation's gambling turnover, which the National Gambling Board's 2024/2025 annual report recorded as a staggering R1.5 trillion—up from R1.1 trillion in the previous financial year. This trend includes participation from students. Meanwhile, 13,983 jobs were created across the sector.

Read more: Young South Africans gamble with their lives in miserable web of online betting

Daily Maverick spoke with students who have been using their NSFAS allowances to fund their gambling habits.

A Walter Sisulu University (WSU) student, who wished to remain anonymous, nearly dropped out after gambling led to financial losses and irregular use of family funds.

“At the beginning of this year, financially, I had to do everything at home. When the first allowance came out, I was meant to use it for school and home, but I took R500 to gamble, and I was left with R1,100. I was not winning. When the book allowance came in, I had already been in debt, and it was not enough because I had to buy groceries and a phone, and send money home. I again took money, and I was betting on Aviator [an online gambling game] on Betway.

“Even at home, my grandmother was asking for the money because I have a child at home. I ended up lying to them, saying that I did not receive my allowance. I went to borrow again from people. In May 2025, people started harassing me, as they wanted their money, and I decided to leave my school for home. At home, I used to take the money that I was given and bet with it,” she said.

“Students at my residence were posting me in student groups and taking my belongings, as they wanted their money back. Eventually, I came back and tried to pay them back and get back my belongings. I was embarrassed,” she said.

A second-year student in Public Management at WSU, Mudzanani Thuvhusiwi, said he started gambling in 2017 and became increasingly addicted to it.

“In 2025, I used my whole NSFAS book allowance - R5,200 - (on) gambling. I was using almost every betting site, like Betway, Sportbet and Hollywoodbets, to get free vouchers. I tried to recover by borrowing at least R4,000 from people. I tried to pay them back, and now I still need to pay R700 to one person,” said Thuvhusiwi.

“I am in pursuit of a soft life. Sometimes you see people winning a lot of money, and I also want to win. However, I used to lose focus in class, and I ended up sleeping because it was painful. I tried counselling, and I was told to close all my accounts.”

Gambling learnt at home 

A University of Johannesburg student, Nkateko Madingana, said he grew up in a household where gambling was a normal practice.

“My mom was betting on the Lotto, and my grandmother was betting on horses. With my R1,600 monthly NSFAS allowance, I took R1,000 for groceries, and the other R600 I wanted to make more. I would put in R100, and it got chewed, and I kept betting higher and not getting anything back. This game gave me hope that I would win. Even if I won, I would continue betting again,” said Madingana.

Madingana said he stopped gambling five months ago after his partner told him to stop because she no longer trusted him with money.

Feeding the addiction 

A clinical psychologist, Dr Keitumetse Mashego, said that when it came to gambling addiction, “What we see is when someone cannot make sound decisions, meaning that even when they’re losing, they keep going back. So some start to steal, borrow, or beg just to feed their addiction.

“Gambling is so accessible now, on the phone and TV. Even how they are advertised, the use of lights stimulates certain parts in your brain. The use of influencers — they are the face of betting, and it’s the same as how drug lords use people … the influencers are being used by these companies to lure people in,” said Mashego.

“People are unemployed, people don’t have money, and the cost of living is so high, so people are always lured into wanting quick fixes or quick money.”

She said young people should be aware that these influencers are not genuine and that they should rather focus on studying so they can earn money.

Advertising and gambling

Daily Maverick spoke to Rise Mzansi’s chief whip, Makashule Gana, who recently sounded the alarm in Parliament about gambling becoming a crisis that needs urgent addressing.

“[Gambling companies] are advertising 24/7 and disregarding regulations on the level of advertising. Unfortunately, people are falling for this advertising; the effect of gambling has led to people committing suicide, and it reduces productivity, and in the case of students, it will decrease concentration in the classroom,” said Gana.

Gana has asked the minister of trade, industry and competition, Parks Tau, to ensure that gambling companies reduce advertising and the use of influencers.

“There needs to be regulations that regulate the times that the gambling companies can advertise; they must also deal with the use of influencers on social media because some of these things are a result of social media, in which they pretend they are winning and living large.

“The regulations must deal with electronic advertising and use of influencers; however, we are mindful of associated industries that make a living off of this,” said Gana.

In a parliamentary reply to Gana, Tau highlighted contraventions, including targeted digital formats like pop-up ads, sponsored content, influencer campaigns and algorithm-driven videos.

“These methods often lacked appropriate responsible gambling messaging and were accessible to minors, thereby breaching provisions regarding the protection of vulnerable persons and responsible gambling communication. The matter is being escalated to the National Gambling Policy Council for deliberation and resolution,” said Tau.

Influencers used to promote betting brands include South African soccer icon Siphiwe Tshabalala and former UFC champion Dricus du Plessis, who are associated with Betway, which also has a partnership with SA Rugby (Springboks). The Durban July is sponsored by Hollywoodbets, and SA soccer’s Premier League is now known as the Betway Premiership.

A source of extraction

In July 2025, an amaBhungane investigation found that online gambling had become a significant source of extraction from the South African economy, exploiting regulatory failures and profiting from a new social ill through cynical business practices and relentless self-promotion.

Read more: South Africa’s bad bet: How online gambling is a major source of extraction from the economy.

The investigation found that South Africa’s 2004 National Gambling Act was outdated, predating online gambling and smartphones. Proposed regulations in 2012 to ban online gambling advertising, similar to partial bans in countries like Kenya, were not implemented. This has opened a gap for companies to advertise frequently.

NSFAS responds 

NSFAS spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi said, “NSFAS has not received any formal reports or complaints directly indicating widespread misuse of allowances for gambling activities.

“However, we continuously monitor and review our processes to ensure funds are used appropriately. Our funding policies stipulate that allowances are intended solely for educational and living expenses. While there are no specific clauses explicitly addressing gambling, misuse of funds contravenes the terms of the NSFAS funding agreement, which all students sign.”

Mnisi added that the NSFAS focused on financial literacy and awareness campaigns and collaborated with institutions to help students manage their money responsibly.

‘Measures taken’

Replying to Daily Maverick’s questions about the use of influencers to promote gambling sites, the National Gambling Board’s stakeholder engagement administrator, Acting Chief Executive Officer Lungile Dukwana, said: “NGB concurs that the use of social media influencers and public personalities to promote online or interactive gambling products is inconsistent with the principles of responsible gambling, particularly where such promotions may reach minors or encourage excessive participation.”

Measures that had been taken to address this issue included:

• Raised awareness and promoted regulation adherence for influencer-based gambling promotions through digital platforms and advertising agencies; and
• Collaboration with the DTIC and PLAs to recommend explicit restrictions on influencer gambling advertising to the NGPC, per the minister’s directive.

Regarding measures used to educate young people on gambling, Dukwana, said: “Face-to-face education campaigns are conducted through community information sessions, town hall meetings or imbizos; school and tertiary institution visits, awareness drives at the premises of gambling operators and at social grant information points.”

A major issue is the frequent advertising of gambling companies. Daily Maverick questioned the gambling board on measures taken to reduce this habit.

“While the regulations (in the NGB Act) currently do not prescribe specific limits on the frequency or volume of advertising, the NGB has identified this gap as an area requiring policy enhancement. The matter has therefore been escalated to the NGPC for consideration of possible amendments to strengthen oversight... The NGB is working with the Advertising Regulatory Board to address advertising that does not comply with the National Gambling Act,” Dukwana said. DM