Yes, Covid changed gambling — but quick thinking combined with thoughtful planning was needed to build a phone-betting empire
27 March 2025 - 05:00
by Larry Claasen
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When Covid forced casinos to close in 2020, it did not automatically drive punters to online gambling.
If anything, online betting operators were in just as much trouble as location-based casinos, because they depended on punters betting on sporting events to earn an income. When most sporting events shut down, the gambling operators stood to lose a lot of money.
Hollywoodbets brand and communications manager Devin Heffer says it forced his group to become innovative and look at ways to provide online gaming. It turned to fixed-odds betting, which allows wagers on the outcome of an event, such as sports matches or horse races, at predetermined odds.
The company offered virtual and casino-style games with outcomes determined by random number generators rather than player involvement. Instead of focusing solely on sports or horse-racing, this approach allowed Hollywoodbets to diversify its online entertainment options.
“It allowed us to offer a variety of games designed to mimic the experience of slot machines and classic table games such as blackjack and roulette. These games provided a convenient and entertaining alternative for our users, driven by fixed-odds outcomes that were generated by trusted software providers,” Heffer says.
The surge in betting growth has been spectacular. For the year to end-March 2020 gross gambling revenue (GGR) in South Africa was R8.76bn. This shot up to R10.6bn for the following year and to R15.46bn for 2022. The momentum has not slowed, with GGR reaching R35.9bn for 2024. By contrast, land-based casinos have yet to regain lost ground.
In producing these fixed-odds betting games, the operators not only changed the nature of gambling in South Africa, but online gambling itself. Punters could now get instant gratification, whereas before they had to wait 90 minutes for a football game to end or for the lottery draw to be done to know if their bets would pay out. “With slot-type games, you get your result in a split second.”
Though Hollywoodbets might be an online gambling juggernaut now, it did not start out that way. It was founded in the late 1980s by Heffer’s father, Owen. Back then it produced racecards, and in the late 1990s it started opening betting shops. The move to online betting was a long, slow process. The company launched its first betting website, which Heffer describes as cumbersome, in 2006.
With the rising number of smartphones in about 2010 and the introduction of 4G mobile broadband, Hollywoodbets introduced mobile apps. As demand grew, it decided to bring software development in-house, and in 2015 it switched to its own software company, BET Software. Its aim was to make app-based betting products for a mass market, in which punters wanted to wage small bets of R1 to R5.
“Bookmakers at the time were all gunning for the big punters. They preferred one R10,000 player, whereas we would rather have 10,000 players betting R1,” says Heffer.
The next big shift was in about 2015, with the introduction of “top-up vouchers”. These enabled punters to load money into their Hollywoodbets accounts as if they were buying airtime. Before that, punters had to either make an electronic funds transfer or pay with a credit or debit card.
Top-up vouchers were a game-changer, as it allowed punters who did not have bank accounts onto the platform. Partnerships with airtime resellers such as Flash and Kazang enabled Hollywoodbets to sell vouchers in the informal sector.
“This was really where it took off, because we offered it in major retailers such as Boxer and Spar and later in major petrol stations in co-operation with companies like Blue Label,” says Heffer.
“You could now top up Hollywoodbets accounts from basically anywhere.”
The bankless top-up methods were followed by the introduction of bankless withdrawal methods, with customers being able to opt for e-wallet or cash-send and therefore not requiring to visit a Hollywoodbets branch or needing a bank account.
All these changes meant that Hollywoodbets was better prepared for the disruption the pandemic brought in March 2020 — better than even it imagined.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
How Hollywoodbets caught the online wave
Yes, Covid changed gambling — but quick thinking combined with thoughtful planning was needed to build a phone-betting empire
When Covid forced casinos to close in 2020, it did not automatically drive punters to online gambling.
If anything, online betting operators were in just as much trouble as location-based casinos, because they depended on punters betting on sporting events to earn an income. When most sporting events shut down, the gambling operators stood to lose a lot of money.
Hollywoodbets brand and communications manager Devin Heffer says it forced his group to become innovative and look at ways to provide online gaming. It turned to fixed-odds betting, which allows wagers on the outcome of an event, such as sports matches or horse races, at predetermined odds.
The company offered virtual and casino-style games with outcomes determined by random number generators rather than player involvement. Instead of focusing solely on sports or horse-racing, this approach allowed Hollywoodbets to diversify its online entertainment options.
“It allowed us to offer a variety of games designed to mimic the experience of slot machines and classic table games such as blackjack and roulette. These games provided a convenient and entertaining alternative for our users, driven by fixed-odds outcomes that were generated by trusted software providers,” Heffer says.
The surge in betting growth has been spectacular. For the year to end-March 2020 gross gambling revenue (GGR) in South Africa was R8.76bn. This shot up to R10.6bn for the following year and to R15.46bn for 2022. The momentum has not slowed, with GGR reaching R35.9bn for 2024. By contrast, land-based casinos have yet to regain lost ground.
In producing these fixed-odds betting games, the operators not only changed the nature of gambling in South Africa, but online gambling itself. Punters could now get instant gratification, whereas before they had to wait 90 minutes for a football game to end or for the lottery draw to be done to know if their bets would pay out. “With slot-type games, you get your result in a split second.”
Though Hollywoodbets might be an online gambling juggernaut now, it did not start out that way. It was founded in the late 1980s by Heffer’s father, Owen. Back then it produced racecards, and in the late 1990s it started opening betting shops. The move to online betting was a long, slow process. The company launched its first betting website, which Heffer describes as cumbersome, in 2006.
With the rising number of smartphones in about 2010 and the introduction of 4G mobile broadband, Hollywoodbets introduced mobile apps. As demand grew, it decided to bring software development in-house, and in 2015 it switched to its own software company, BET Software. Its aim was to make app-based betting products for a mass market, in which punters wanted to wage small bets of R1 to R5.
“Bookmakers at the time were all gunning for the big punters. They preferred one R10,000 player, whereas we would rather have 10,000 players betting R1,” says Heffer.
The next big shift was in about 2015, with the introduction of “top-up vouchers”. These enabled punters to load money into their Hollywoodbets accounts as if they were buying airtime. Before that, punters had to either make an electronic funds transfer or pay with a credit or debit card.
Top-up vouchers were a game-changer, as it allowed punters who did not have bank accounts onto the platform. Partnerships with airtime resellers such as Flash and Kazang enabled Hollywoodbets to sell vouchers in the informal sector.
“This was really where it took off, because we offered it in major retailers such as Boxer and Spar and later in major petrol stations in co-operation with companies like Blue Label,” says Heffer.
“You could now top up Hollywoodbets accounts from basically anywhere.”
The bankless top-up methods were followed by the introduction of bankless withdrawal methods, with customers being able to opt for e-wallet or cash-send and therefore not requiring to visit a Hollywoodbets branch or needing a bank account.
All these changes meant that Hollywoodbets was better prepared for the disruption the pandemic brought in March 2020 — better than even it imagined.
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