South African Legislation Regarding Online Betting

Since 1996, when the South African government brought into place a new licensing system regarding casinos operating in the country, with the National Gambling Act, there has always been those in the camp of reformers pushing for more legality, while those in the more conservative field still pressed for legislation to remain the same.

With changes made in the industry during the 2004 National Gambling Act, the industry once again was granted more freedom, yet legality of online casinos remained unchanged. The current state of validity around gambling and casino’s only applies towards online sports betting, and any other form of online betting and gambling remains prohibited.

In 2010 it was further decided that neither South African based online casinos nor online casinos situated outside of the South African borders, will be allowed to operate legally in South Africa. With the hanging threat of fines of as much as R10 million and a sentence of ten years in jail for those found guilty. This can include any player, bank or casino involved in this kind of practice.

A New Bill under Review

For a couple of years already the push is still going strong to legalize online gambling in South Africa under the leadership of Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies. This bill doesn’t bring any clear solutions either.One concerning aspect of this bill is the fact that the major stakeholders in the industry will be less protected. It holds the potential that the winner’s earnings can be taken from them if they have earned it through a platform which was legalized.

It also holds further challenges for financial institutions regarding the blocking of transactions which were made through services of gambling operators which were unlicensed. This is a substantial administrative burden on them. Further regulations which are considered to be challenging revolves around land-based institutions. These include matters concerning the situation of ATM’s. ATM’s aren’t allowed to be in the close vicinity of these institutions. Their entrances should also not be in plain sight to the public.

Their advertising is going to be curbed, and they are only allowed to have a certain number of licenses and machines on site. This is the kind of legislation which the government is pushing for, yet the industry won’t be benefitting from it at all.

The Future Do Still Shine With a Glimmer

Globally, revenue earned from legal gambling activities is becoming a lucrative source of income for governments. This is currently the primary motivation for the belief that the South African government will probably soon also adjust their stance concerning the legalization of online casinos in South Africa. They have been making a substantial income through revenue earned from land-based casinos, and this can expand. Until then, though, South Africans who are keen on expanding to online gambling beyond sports betting will have to do extend their activities to casinos in other parts of the world.