ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses risky behaviour of South African women with respect to gambling, and other possibly unhealthy risky behaviours. This chapter also describes risk and other related factors associated with these behaviours among South African women, as well as additional challenges within the current global pandemic, and how awareness programs have influenced their behaviours. The number of women who gamble has increased since the legalization of gambling in South Africa in 1996. The license conditions for infrastructure were specific around creating an environment of status and spaces of entertainment, safety as well as multi-purpose functioning that would add value to various locations across the country. The world changed substantially after these grandiose sites and great complexes where perceived and implemented, and general perceptions of gambling changed. A number of environmental factors will be discussed which may be unique to the increasing participation of women in gambling activities. These are related to factors such as more accepting attitudes toward gambling, the influence of lock down on casinos and the growth of online gambling, a new range of risky behaviours as well as the social compacts related to communities under immense new challenges.
