• With unemployment high, many young men say gambling is the only way to get quick money for food, transport or daily needs.

• Gambling workshops found most township gamblers are unemployed and often gamble to survive, despite the risk of debt and violence.

In townships across the country, groups of young men can be seen on street corners from early in the morning throwing dice on cardboard.

The game is known as ma-dice, and for many unemployed youths it has become a way to try to make money when there is no work.

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In Alexandra, one of South Africa's oldest townships, dice games start early and run throughout the day. Cash changes hands, arguments break out, and violence sometimes follows.

Anthony Vilakazi is 23. He passed matric, completed short courses and has been looking for work for years.

"There's nothing to do," he said. "You wake up every day and face the same struggle. That's why you see young people gambling, drinking and even turning to crime."

The Gauteng Gambling Board recently ran workshops in townships to understand why people gamble. More than half of those who attended were unemployed.

Many said they gamble when they need quick cash or when household money has run out. Some said gambling makes them feel alive or helps them forget daily stress.

But the risks are high.

Participants said they often lose all their money, fall into debt, or get into fights after winning or losing. Some said people have been robbed after big wins.

Dice gambling is especially dangerous. Games are often run by people known as knocksmen, who take a cut of the winnings. Players say you must know who you are gambling with or you can be cheated or attacked.

Another common game is Fafi, also known as maChina, an illegal township lottery often run from luxury cars. Despite being illegal, some players see it as a way to survive and say winnings are sometimes shared among those who lost.

Many township residents say they started gambling when they were still at school and never stopped.

It is risky, addictive and often violent.

But for young people like Anthony, who have no job and no income, gambling feels like the only way to get through another day.