Fewer SA folk are gambling, latest Unisa survey reveals
Casino News from South Africa by: http://www.theherald.co.za
Cape Town ?€“ Fewer South Africans are gambling, according to a new study on the socio-economic impact of gambling in South Africa conducted by the Bureau of Market Research at Unisa and commissioned by the National Gambling Board.
Unveiling the results of the study yesterday, National Gambling Board chairman Chris Fismer said they suggest that the SA gambling market has matured within a relatively short time span.
The gambling industry now contributed just under 1% of South Africa?€™s economy or gross domestic product, while only 1,7% of household budgets was spent on gambling, the survey revealed.
?€?Participation in gambling has declined substantially compared to the frequency levels reported during the establishment phase of South Africa?€™s new gambling industry between 1997 and 2002,?€¯ Fismer said.
?€?Not only has the novelty effect worn off to some extent, but South Africans are better educated today about gambling, and have come to understand that it is a form of recreation and entertainment. Their expectations are much more realistic now in respect of winning prizes.?€¯
The bureau found that South Africans spent R11,6-billion on gambling in 2005, or 0,9% of GDP, up from just under R9-billion in 2003, with casinos accounting for 70%, the lottery and scratch cards nearly 22% and horse racing 6% of spending.
Participation in the national lottery, Fismer revealed, had declined from 71,3% in 2002 to 45,8% in 2005.
At the same time, the percentage of respondents visiting casinos declined from 19,3% in 2001 to 7,1% in 2005.
Overall, South Africans who did not participate in any forms of gambling increased from 43,2% in 2002 to 50,2% in 2005.
Fismer said: ?€?80,6% of South Africans either find gambling acceptable, or have no objection to gambling by others. 19,3% are opposed to gambling.?€¯
National Gambling Board CEO advocate Tibbs Majake said that the propensity of South Africans to gamble, being the percentage of household expenditure allocated to gambling, stood at 1,7% of household income.
This figure was lower than Asian countries (3,7%) and Australia (3,4%), and on a par with jurisdictions in the US, Europe and Britain. Most South Africans gamble through the purchase of lottery tickets (45,8%), with 7,8% buying scratch cards and 7,1% gambling at casinos. |
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