Online Gambling Legislation South Africa
- Online Gambling Legislation South Africa Coronavirus
- Online Gambling Legislation South Africa News24
- Online Gambling Legislation South Africa Government
- Online Gambling Legislation South Africa Covid 19
- Online Gambling Legislation South Africa Nigeria
Until relatively recently, online gambling law was quite a grey area in South Africa. The main reason for this was that the relevant laws and statutes covering gambling were not up to date in terms of these new forms of gambling made possible by the Internet. So online gambling and poker became popular among South Africans. The most well-known 'local' online casino, Piggs Peak (situated in the neighbouring territory of Swaziland), offered both online casino gambling and online poker to South African players. It flourished for a good few years.
Online Casino laws in South Africa. An important topic in the news, all over the world and particularly so in South Africa. Some are for gambling and the benefits it can bring to a country, while other countries see the importance of restricting gambling to protect the people from gambling addiction and losing money. Here’s what the law states and how to enjoy casino gaming online. Nine Gambling Boards. South Africa’s nine provinces govern sports gambling activities locally. Each province has a gambling regulator and that means the country’s laws vary depending on where you live. Most online casinos, however, get their licenses from the Western Cape.
Then the situation changed, as the spotlight fell on this hitherto effectively unregulated industry.
The South African government promulgated the National Gambling Act of 2004, which made it illegal to engage in what it termed 'interactive gambling services' and the offering or advertising of these services for South Africans. By 'interactive' the law refers to Internet games. This covers both casino games and poker games, whether offered by operators inside South Africa or outside of its borders. But there is an important distinction that is identified.
While online casino and poker games were made unlawful, online sports betting and online horse race betting were specifically made legal. This is as long as the operator is fully licensed by one of the South African provincial gambling licensing boards. So, for example, the most popular South African sports betting website, SportingBet, is fully licensed by the Western Cape Gambling Board and operates completely legally inside the country. It is used by thousands of sports bettors every day.
In the meantime, however, Piggs Peak continued to offer both online casino and online poker, effectively under the impression that online gambling offered from an offshore location was not adequately covered in the Gambling Act. They took this all the way to the North Gauteng High Court in an effort to get a legal stamp of approval on their services, but were ultimately unsuccessful and were forced to bar South Africans from playing.
In concert with this, South African banks do not allow bank accounts and credit cards to be used to transfer funds to online casinos. However, it is still possible to do so using online banking methods such as NETeller or uKash, etc.
At the same time it was – and still is – recognised that online gambling is a huge industry that attracts many South Africans, and that the problem is not so much one of whether it should or should not be legalised, but more one of how to regulate it. To this end the National Gambling Amendment Act of 2008 was drawn up with a view to bringing it before Parliament in order to have online gambling legalised and regulated. The amendment attracted a lot of opposition from land-based casinos, for many of the same reasons as the situation in America, where these casinos feared losing customers and revenue to their online competition. The fact remains, thought, that there is currently legislation on the books and quite possibly in the pipeline that will make online gambling legal for South Africans.
While the above is quite clear, there are of course plenty of overseas online casinos that offer online gambling to South Africans, and online payment methods that can be used. And there remains every possibility that online gambling will soon be legalised in the country, once the National Gambling Amendment Act of 2008 goes through Parliament and is signed into law.
Of course sports betting is fully legal for South Africans. At the moment betting on horse racing predominates, but as more sports betting websites emerge and broadband and mobile Internet access increases, this is likely to change, with a swing towards sports betting. South Africa is, after all, a sports mad nation.
Companies like PwC expect gambling activities and revenues to continue to grow, indicating that the country's appetite shows no sign of waning. And in the face of this, the legalisation and regulation of online gambling looks likely to follow shortly. This is especially buoyed by the realisation that in South Africa, as in the rest of the world, the most important factors are safe access and responsible gambling. Given that South Africans have ways of circumventing the laws, this becomes even more of an imperative.
In light of the widespread availability of online gambling and the Internet's ability to make national borders permeable, it appears to be in everyone's interests for the National Gambling Amendment of 2008 to become law, so that the industry can operate transparently, safely and responsibly for South African players. It has been reported by PwC that the South African government had plans to issue ten online casino gambling licences in the period around 2009, but this has obviously not happened yet. We await the next roll of the dice...
South Africa has a unique set of gambling laws. For decades, nearly all forms of gambling were completely illegal here. Today, there are legal options to make bets here, yet online gaming options remain limited. Many are now calling for online gambling in South Africa to become legal.
Online Gambling Legislation South Africa Coronavirus
Today, we’re going to look at South Africa’s current set of laws on the land-based and online gambling industry. We’ll also look at why so many are pushing lawmakers to legalize internet gambling.
Evolution of South Africa’s Gambling Laws
The real history of gambling in South Africa dates back hundreds of years. Up until the 20th century, gambling was legal, yet heavily restricted. In 1965, the government cracked down on the industry and declared that all forms of gambling were completely illegal.
As you might expect, this ban created a huge black market for the gambling industry. Small, illegal casinos began opening around the country. By the early 1990s, the government realized they needed to make a change. Lawmakers passed the National Gaming Act in 1996, giving gambling companies a legal avenue to offer their services.
Under these new laws, companies could receive a license from the government to offer casino games, bingo games, and horse racing odds. In 2006, lawmakers here updated the country’s gambling laws. Regulation over the industry got stricter and online gambling in South Africa was deemed illegal.
Today, there are 40 land-based casinos in South Africa. They’re hugely popular with both tourists and locals. Let’s take a quick look at how much revenue this country’s gambling industry is bringing in.
Gambling Is One of South Africa’s Fastest-Growing Industries
For the past 20 years, the popularity of gambling has exploded in South Africa. The rise in legal land-based gambling options has breathed new life into the industry. Revenue earned from gambling in South Africa has never been higher here.
In 2018, the gambling industry here earned more than 30 billion rand ($2,091,000 USD). This money is only from legal gambling establishments. Most analysts feel that when adding the revenue from the unregulated online gambling industry, the figure goes up tremendously.
A recent report states that by 2021, this country’s gambling industry could be worth 35 billion rand. It would represent a massive increase over a very short period of time. Unfortunately, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) here is known to be heavily against gambling activities.
For obvious reasons, many are now calling for online gambling in South Africa to become fully legal. It’s clear that millions of people here enjoy wagering online, yet the government is missing out on millions of dollars without regulation. Is this likely to happen anytime soon?
Online Gambling in South Africa Should Be Legal, Says Analysts
Online Gambling Legislation South Africa News24
Under their current gambling laws, online gambling in South Africa is illegal. Unlike some countries in Africa that choose to simply ignore this industry, lawmakers here have outright banned it. It doesn’t make much sense, considering the huge number of individuals that still choose to bet online here.
It’s well-known that many of the top online gambling sites in Europe currently accept players in South Africa.
The Casino Association of South Africa (CASA) states it is neither for nor against online gambling legalization. Officials in this company recognize that there’s an issue, yet they can’t agree on whether or not making online gambling legal will benefit the country. Themba Ngobese, CEO of CASA, recently commented on the effects of online gambling legalization to the media.
Online Gambling Legislation South Africa Government
Ngobese feels that lawmakers need to decide on either pursuing legal action against illegal online gambling operators or opening up the industry.
“This will also ensure that consumers are protected and that online operators contribute positively to the economy, as the current land-based licensed casinos do,” he said.
Online Gambling Legislation South Africa Covid 19
The DTI agree with the first opinion. Heads of this group want to see the government ramp on restrictions on this industry that punish individuals caught gambling online.
South Africa is working on new ways to generate revenue. If online gambling in South Africa becomes legal, the government will likely earn millions of revenue from taxes every single month.
Do you think this country should make online gambling legal? Let us know in the comments section below!