Betmatch Seeks South African Government Action Against Unlicensed Gambling Apps

Betmatch wants government to engage Apple, Google and Meta to have unlicensed gambling applications removed from local app stores. (Image created by GenAI) Some R247 711 has been wagered on Johannesburg’s next mayor on Betmatch, with Helen Zille odds-on to win. This, as the betting exchange clashes with the South African Bookmakers’ Association (SABA) over calls for tighter regulation of prediction markets. Betmatch’s current odds imply a roughly 60% to 70% chance of Zille becoming mayor, compared with about 15% to 27% for the ANC’s Frank Chikane. Former Gauteng premier David Makhura, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, the ANC’s Loyiso Masuku and Kenny Kunene from the Patriotic Alliance are also listed on the exchange. SABA wants prediction markets, such as Betmatch, barred from operating until a dedicated regulatory framework is in place, arguing that existing gambling legislation does not adequately address the risks associated with these products. The association argues that betting exchanges merely match bets between customers, rather than taking bets themselves, and therefore do not qualify as bookmakers under existing gambling legislation. Responding to SABA’s late-July position paper, Betmatch says the proposed restrictions would prevent licensed local exchanges from competing with offshore platforms that continue accepting bets from South Africans. SABA is also concerned about the integrity of political prediction markets, arguing that allowing people to profit from elections, public appointments and government decisions could create financial incentives to influence those outcomes. “Unlike sports integrity frameworks, South Africa presently lacks any equivalent monitoring system capable of detecting or preventing manipulation linked to prediction market activity,” says SABA CEO Sean Coleman in the paper. Betmatch wants illegal operators barred, while defending its own licence. (Graphic: Nicola Mawson) Zille, a former DA leader who stepped away from frontline politics in 2019 but remained active in the party’s leadership, has returned to the electoral fray as its Johannesburg mayoral candidate. She is pitching herself as the experienced fix-it candidate, with a campaign focused on water cuts, power cuts, potholes, billing chaos, crime and collapsing infrastructure. According to the Centre for Development and Enterprise, Johannesburg owes creditors R25.2 billion but has just R3.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents. The city’s water infrastructure renewal backlog is at R26.6 billion, with replacing its ageing pipe network at the current pace is expected to take almost two centuries, the centre says. The hotly-contested mayoral race ahead of the November elections has drawn candidates from across the political spectrum. The ANC has shortlisted incumbent mayor Dada Morero, his deputy Loyiso Masuku and Frank Chikane. SABA questions the North West Gambling Board’s decision to issue betting exchange licences, arguing that existing legislation does not expressly authorise them and that provincial regulators may exercise only powers specifically granted by law. The betting exchange maintains that its North West Gambling Board licence already permits it to offer betting on uncertain future events, such as who will become Johannesburg’s next mayor. “The demand clearly exists. The only question is whether it is met by operators subject to South African law, or by offshore platforms accountable to no one here,” says Betmatch CEO Nick French. “Peer-to-peer betting on a contingency is precisely what a Bookmaker Exchange licence authorises, and we already offer markets of this kind lawfully and under supervision on our platform.” Betmatch has submitted draft rules governing prediction markets to the North West Gambling Board, adapted from Gibraltar’s Prediction Market Regulations 2026. The proposed framework provides for individual betting contract approval, prohibited subjects, integrity monitoring and client-money protection. Its pro