Affiliate marketing in South Africa covers everything from fashion and electronics to travel and financial products. Sports betting is one of the few categories where the product itself is licensed and the advertising is regulated. If you want to promote betting brands as an affiliate, the commission models will look familiar, but the rules around them are stricter. This guide explains how affiliate marketing works in South Africa's licensed betting market and what it means for the content you publish.
New to the basics? Start with our plain-English guide to what affiliate marketing is, then come back here.
Affiliate marketing South Africa: why betting is different
When you promote a retail product, the main questions are whether your audience will like it and whether the tracking works. When you promote betting, three more questions come first:
- Is the brand licensed to offer this product in South Africa?
- Is my audience made up of adults?
- Does my content follow the advertising rules?
If the answer to any of these is no, the promotion should not go out, however good the deal looks. The rest of this article explains each question.
How sports betting is licensed in South Africa
In South Africa, betting operators are licensed by provincial regulators. Examples include the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board and the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator. Sports betting is governed by the National Gambling Act and provincial gambling laws, and bookmaker licences are issued by provincial regulators.
For affiliates, this has one practical consequence: only promote brands that hold a South African provincial licence. That is our first rule. Every brand we work with is listed on our brands page with its licensing board, and each brand page shows the licence details.
Our programme covers licensed sports betting. Online casino games, such as online slots, live casino and crash games, are not authorised in South Africa under the National Gambling Act (section 11). Partners must not promote them, even if an operator's website offers them.
How to check a brand before you promote it
- Find the licence statement on the brand's own website, usually in the footer. It should name the provincial board and a licence number.
- Check that the board named is a South African provincial regulator.
- Be cautious with brands that only show an overseas licence, or no licence at all.
The advertising rules that apply to affiliates
Affiliates are not exempt from gambling advertising rules because they are not the operator. The National Gambling Board has instructed provincial regulators to require the immediate removal of promotions by influencers, brand ambassadors or social media personalities on an operator's behalf that are misleading or lack responsible gambling messages.
Our marketing code turns these rules into a list every partner signs up to. In summary:
- No false or misleading advertising.
- No advertising aimed at, or attractive to, minors, and nobody shown who appears to be under 18.
- Every advert carries an addiction warning.
- Gambling is never presented as free or discounted as an inducement.
- No claims that gambling guarantees personal, financial or social success, or that it can make dreams come true.
- No suggestion that winning is a likely outcome, or that the more you play, the more likely you are to win.
- No content that encourages people who have self-excluded to leave the register.
Responsible gambling messaging
Print, SMS, mobile and billboard adverts must include an addiction warning, the name, toll-free number and tagline of the national responsible gambling programme, and a statement that only people aged 18 or over may legally take part. In video, the tagline must be clearly visible for at least three seconds. Adverts must not be placed in media or venues whose main audience is under 18.
In practice, that means a line like the one at the end of this article on every promotion. Our responsible gambling page has the exact wording.
Label every promotion
Every post that contains a tracking link or promotes an operator must clearly show that it is an advert, for example by including "#Ad" or "Advert", or by using the platform's paid-partnership label (clause 6.4.5 of the Affiliate terms). Where a platform offers age restrictions, set them to 18+.
Privacy: POPIA and your community
Many South African affiliates work through WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels and mailing lists. These channels count as direct marketing when you use them to promote a brand.
Under POPIA, direct marketing by electronic communication is prohibited without consent, unless the person is an existing customer (section 69). For affiliates, that means:
- Keep a record of consent for WhatsApp and Telegram broadcasts.
- Give people a clear way to opt out, and respect it.
- Do not add people to promotional groups or lists without their agreement.
More detail is on our POPIA page.
Practices that will cost you commission
Some practices are prohibited by law; others are prohibited by our Affiliate terms because they harm operators or players. The main ones:
- Brand keyword bidding and look-alike domains. Bidding on brand keywords, or registering domains that include or are confusingly similar to an operator's name or ours, is prohibited (clause 6.3.7 of the Affiliate terms).
- Prediction competitions with prizes. Competitions that award prizes for predicting future results need authorisation under the Lotteries Act, and are not allowed in our programme.
- Unauthorised or offshore lotteries. Promoting a lottery that is not authorised by law is an offence, and we do not accept offshore lottery resellers.
- Unlicensed products. Interactive games may only be offered under a licence issued under the National Gambling Act.
The full list, with the legal references, is on our prohibited practices page. Breaches of the marketing code can lead to content takedown, commission deductions or termination.
A note on lottery content
Lottery content is popular in South Africa, and it has its own rules. Information-led lottery content and referrals to licensed sports betting are possible, but with no offshore lottery resellers, casino offers, prize prediction competitions or claims that numbers can be predicted. Any post that shows numbers or predictions must say that draws are random and past results do not affect future results.
Lottery-style bets (such as Lucky Numbers) are allowed only when the operator offers them under its South African licence and they are approved in your Commission Schedule. Our page for lottery content creators explains the conditions.
A checklist before you publish
- The brand holds a South African provincial licence.
- Your audience is adults, and nothing in the post appeals to under-18s.
- The post is clearly labelled as an advert (for example #Ad, Advert or the platform's paid-partnership label).
- The responsible gambling warning, helpline and 18+ statement are included.
- There are no promises about winning, success or easy money.
- Any broadcast list or group has recorded consent and an opt-out.
- Your tracking link is the one from your dashboard, with no brand keyword ads or look-alike domains behind it.
Summary
Affiliate marketing in South Africa's betting market works on the same mechanics as any other affiliate programme: tracking links, approved channels and commission. The difference is the framework around it. Promote licensed brands only, speak to adults only, label your promotions and include responsible gambling messages. Partners who build that into their routine from the start avoid takedowns and lost commission later.
If your channel fits these rules, see how to become a partner.
No persons under the age of 18 may participate in gambling. National Responsible Gambling Programme: 0800 006 008 · Winners know when to stop.
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