Taking Risks Wisely, Tertiary Edition Across South Africa

The South African Responsible Gambling Foundation (SARGF) is deeply concerned about the rise in online betting among tertiary students, who are wagering state-funded bursary allowances on betting platforms. 

This trend is exposing financially vulnerable students to escalating debt, anxiety, and severe gambling harm, while directly undermining public investment in higher education. While South Africa lacks exhaustive national empirical data on this emerging crisis, the warning signs from the SARGF’s clinical data reveal undeniable facts. Internal intake records indicate that a growing number of students seeking counselling admit to diverting their National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) living stipends and book allowances to online sports betting and digital casino applications. 

In response, the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation (SARGF), through its National Responsible Gambling Programme (NRGP), is in full swing implementing the Taking Risks Wisely Tertiary Edition (TRWTE) across South Africa. The initiative is aimed at introducing students to responsible, informed decision-making, which includes financial literacy and practical stipend management tools. Further issues addressed by the programme includes the consequences of excessive gambling, and the importance of seeking support when faced with social and financial pressures. Ultimately, the programme empowers students to manage their allowances for their well-being rather than chasing high betting returns. 

During the financial year 2025/2026, 5,199 people were assessed by its Counselling Helpline for concerns related to gambling harm. Some 3 541 received treatment, and 1 658 dropped out. Of those who received treatment, 2 670 were between the ages of 18 and 35. Within this youth cohort 198 were students from institutions of higher learning, and 51 students displayed suicide ideation. This marks a worrying increase compared to the 2024/2025 financial year, where from the 4 166 people that were referred for treatment, 2 034 were youths between the ages of 18-35, 163 were students from tertiary institutions, and 38 students displayed suicide ideation.  

The Executive Director of the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation, Sibongile Simelane-Quntana, said the expansion of the Taking Risks Wisely programme to universities comes at a critical time for South Africa’s youth. The landscape is shifting from a gambling problem into a potential public health crisis if critical interventions and amendments to legislation and regulation are not made: “We are increasingly seeing young people, particularly students facing financial pressure, becoming vulnerable to the illusion that gambling is a secondary income generator or a full-time ‘side hustle’.  

“What may begin as casual betting can quickly develop into harmful behaviour that affects academic performance, mental health, relationships, and financial stability. Clinical research states that the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for decision making and impulse control, only fully develops at the age of 25. 

“Through the Taking Risks Wisely Tertiary Edition, we want students to understand the risks associated with excessive gambling, make informed decisions, and know that support is available when they need it,” says Simelane-Quntana.  

From a neuropsychological perspective, gambling engages the brain’s reward system by triggering the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, learning, and reinforcement. Studies have shown that gambling can release as much as ten times more dopamine than natural rewards like food or social interaction. This surge leads to a temporary sense of euphoria, but over time, the brain adapts to these elevated levels, reducing its responsiveness and making it harder for individuals to derive satisfaction from everyday experiences, a phenomenon known as tolerance. 

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Editor’s Notes: 

The TRWTE evolved from the Taking Risks Wisely Schools edition (TRWSE), also an NRGP initiative, which focuses on learners who form part of the “vulnerable groups” outlined in the National Gambling Act 2004, as amended. The TRWSE advocates that learners do not engage in gambling or betting activities, as it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18. The TRWSE equip learners with tools to manage other challenges, such as peer pressure alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and sexuality. Through this programme, the NRGP has been able to drill down the nuances that drive and influence illegal underage gambling, the most common of which are socio-economic factors, normalisation of gambling within their home and community, peer influence, and advertising. The programme goes beyond advocacy and public awareness; learners affected by gambling are provided psychoeducational group therapy sessions and, where required, individual psychotherapeutic intervention through the NRGP minor intervention programme headed by the NRGP’s Addiction Social Workers, who are trained and special child case management professionals.  

Most importantly, the TRWSE field insights indicate that tertiary institutions inherit a systematic gambling harm pipeline that begins in early childhood education, which is carried through the foundation phase, senior phase, and eventually into higher education and training.