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What Does That R500 Bet Really Cost You?

Online betting has become part of everyday life for many South Africans. But the real cost of gambling is not always the money lost today. It is also what that money could have become tomorrow.

Sanlam’s 2026 Benchmark found that 38% of gamblers said they gamble to generate additional income, while 66% fund their gambling from salaries or wages. Even more concerning, 13% said they had accessed retirement savings to fund gambling or betting.

This is where the concept of opportunity cost becomes important.

Opportunity cost is the value of what you give up when you choose one use for your money over another.

If R500 a month is spent on betting, the cost is not only the R500. It is also the investment growth that money could have earned over time.

If that same R500 were invested monthly and earned an average return of 10% a year, it could grow to approximately:

• R380 000 after 20 years
• R1.13 million after 30 years

At R1 000 per month, the potential values rise to roughly:

• R759 000 after 20 years
• R2.26 million after 30 years

Investment returns are not guaranteed, and actual outcomes will vary.

But there is an important difference between investing and gambling. Investing places money into assets with the objective of creating long-term growth. Gambling, by contrast, has a negative expected return over time because the odds are structured in favour of the operator.

So the question is not only: “Can I afford this bet?” A better question may be: “What could this money become if I gave it time instead of odds?”

Name: Hansie Myburgh
Address: 14 Lelie Street, Northmead, Benoni, 1501
Contact Number: 071 471 2501  |  011 425 1318
Email Address: hansie.myburgh@sfpadvice.co.za