Cape Town (South Africa) – Some of the unusual things gamblers are betting on during the Covid-19 lockdown include sumo wrestling, chess, and WWE wrestling.
Internet gambling is on the rise in South Africa, as customers continue hedging their bets even after casinos shuttered their doors during the shutdown.
Despite the fact that the National Lottery was not available in Lotto stores during the shutdown, players could still choose their numbers on the internet and through banking applications.
Ithuba, The National Lottery Operator verified that the largest ever prize was paid out in the lockdown to someone who picked their numbers through a banking app.
One happy KZN guy who picked his numbers using the Standard Bank phone app won the R153,000,000 PowerBall Plus prize from the July 10 draw.
The lottery operator says in a statement that bank app lotto participants are not only rising but also winning big. It revealed that over the last four months, the FNB Banking App users had struck gold, with four winners scooping large prizes.
Another online platform, Betxchange mobi, reported an increase in gambling. According to the firm, “in July, an ardent BetXchange player hit all four numbers as well as a bonus ball right on a single R10 lottery wager placed on the UK 49's Double Draw Lottery and was instantly R4.6 million richer.”
With this rising tendency, Dr Mike West, who practices at the Akeso Medical Health center, believes there are several significant issues: “It is believed that one out of every ten South Africans gambles.
“In reaction to the lockdown, virtual communities and cell phones were sometimes the only ways for individuals to bet, and the usage of these sorts of services has risen fast, both in the country and the world in general.”
Casinos were permitted to reopen last month, and when GrandWest reopened on June 30, there were huge lines of customers eager to try their luck at the tables and slot machines.
GrandWest paid out exactly 1 million Rands to a woman who scored a jackpot on one slot machine that day, and they had paid out 29 jackpots totaling more than R4.4 million in the last month.
Table tennis was the most popular sport in regards to bets put with Sunbet during the first month of the shutdown, followed by Esports, which got the second largest amount of bets placWorSun International is reopening its hotel at Worcestershire's Golden Valley Casino in Worcester, after the declaration last week that leisure travel inside provincial borders is permitted again.
“We have comprehensive health and safety processes in place, so we are ready to reopen, and we are certain that we will meet or exceed the government's safety standards.”
West, on the other hand, is afraid that with more opportunities to play, even with the lockdown, individuals may fall into trouble: "There's no shame in acknowledging that you've lost track of your gambling, and there is treatment available for you."
The National Responsible Gambling Helpline may be reached at 0800 006 0080, and there are assistance programs available.