Betting on desperation: How the poor are fueling SA’s gambling boom

You can also listen to this podcast on iona.fm here.

JEREMY MAGGS: Now, today I want to shine a light on a crisis that I think is hiding behind glitzy ads and mobile apps. South Africans are placing over R1 trillion a year in bets, with R700 billion going into sport. But behind the hype, real people, particularly low-income earners, they are drowning in debt. I imagine anxiety and in extreme cases, probably even suicidal thoughts.

With me now is John Manyike, who is head of financial education at Old Mutual, and they have done some work into the social costs of gambling, who’s profiting, who’s hurting and what needs to be done.

So John, a very warm welcome. The…