South Africa Online Gambling Law

Since before South Africa became a republic, gambling in most forms was banned. While the laws have changed significantly, it is certainly not a free for all, however, gambling in and of itself is no longer illegal. Gambling in land-based establishments in South Africa is legal and regulated. For many years, South Africans traveled outside of the legal borders of South African in order to go to a casino. With the changes in the gambling law, this is no longer necessary. Online gambling in South Africa is still illegal at this time.

South Africa Online Gambling Laws

SA'S GAMBLING ACT OF 1965

The South African Gambling Act of 1965 ruled gambling as illegal. Gambling, such as horseracing, was legal. The reason for this is because horseracing is considered a sport. In the 1970s, there were a number of illegal casinos created, with the number rising until there were about 2,000 illegal casinos in the mid 90s. Along with the change from a conservative government to a democratic one, the gambling laws were updated in 1994. At that time, gambling was legalised. In 1996, South Africa introduced a national lottery and regulated and licensed casinos.

CHANGES TO THE GAMBLING ACT IN 2004

In 2004, the 1996 Act was repealed, and the National Gambling Act of 2004 came into effect. While land-based gambling was still allowed, online gambling was no longer considered legal. Again, sportsbetting, even if it was done online, was still considered legal. While online gambling is illegal, the emphasis and main responsibility seems to lie with the gambling operators and the financial institutions. To date, no individuals have been prosecuted for playing at online casinos.

Online Gambling in South Africa has been a huge part of the global gambling industry for a long time despite the varying changes in the laws within the country. Punters from SA have continually placed bets and enjoyed the games brought by offshore online gambling providers, as the gambling laws in South Africa were deemed unenforceable. Sports betting in South Africa is 100% legalized and regulated, although other gambling activities online is deemed illegal. Technically speaking, South Africans can be said to be legally using an online gaming site if they use it only to bet on horses and sports events, not on casino or poker games. The background (as briefly as possible) is that gambling in South Africa is regulated by the National Gambling Act of 2004 (NGA), which also established the NGB, and provincial laws aligned with. Gambling within South Africa was largely restricted for many years, dating back to around 1673. Almost all forms of gambling were officially banned in 1965 with the passing of the Gambling Act. Horse racing, which was still considered a sport for many years, was however still legal, and the only place where people could place bets.

Gambling in all its forms is an immensely popular pastime all around the world, and nowhere more than in Africa. Online gambling has opened up the market to appeal to a whole new demographic of.

GAMBLING LAW TODAY

In 2008, there was an attempt to legalise and regulate the online gambling market in South Africa, however, since there was strong opposition, the Act has not yet been accepted as law. In 2010, the North Gauteng High Court issued a ruling that gambling transactions though both local and offshore operators is illegal. While both players and operators are fully aware of this law, there are still many casino choices open to South African players.

South Africa Online Gambling Lawyers

Those who choose to play at online casinos should make sure that the casinos are safe and secure, and have a good reputation. Although the online casinos will not be licensed in South Africa, it is important to choose a casino that is fully licensed in a recognised gaming jurisdiction.

Many of the online casinos that still offer their sites to South African players will offer players the chance of playing in South African Rands (ZAR), and thereby avoiding exchange rate fees. Many casinos also offer a special Welcome Bonus or free money offer to those who are located in South Africa. In addition to this, players should keep an eye open for an online casino with top notch Customer Support team. Customer Support is available 24 hours a day, with many support teams offering a South African toll free telephone number.

Is SA online gambling legal? This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions in the country and many may have found themselves wondering whether playing their favourite games is a move that could see them facing a hefty fine or worse, jail time. Well, online gambling in SA is currently in a grey area and though there is a lot of legislation governing it, there are a few loopholes that make it open to interpretation. If you’re concerned about playing online, understanding the history of the laws passed about online gambling as well as the current state of affairs may go a long way to giving you some insight into the situation.

Going Back a Few Years

Gambling in South Africa as a whole has had a pretty rocky past and though today you can visit big entertainment hubs such as Emperor’s Palace, Montecasino and Grand West Casino and play just about any game your heart desires, there was a time when playing any games for a chance to win money was against the law. The 1965 Gambling Act saw horse racing become legal in South Africa but other games were completely banned.
Of course, as tends to happen when governments place a ban on any popular form of entertainment, people sidestepped the government and started setting up casinos that were illegal and by the time the 1994 democratic elections came along, there were thousands of these establishments in operation. After Nelson Mandela became the first democratically elected president of South Africa, he changed the law to allow some gambling in the country and licensed casinos were established in which people could play the games they enjoyed. Many people thought that the next logical step would see online gambling becoming legal but this was vetoed in 2010 by the Gauteng Gambling Board.

How About Today?

So if the term legal online casino is a paradox in SA, you may be wondering how it’s possible that some people play and haven’t been thrown in jail. Well, it’s not that simple. A 2008 Act states that the government was willing to legalise online casinos, which are not considered to be ‘illegal’ as much as ‘not regulated’. The difference here is key to understanding what you can and can’t do in regards to online casinos. Many people interpret this to mean that they cannot play at an online casino that actually operates within the borders of the country, that is, it has offices and employees in the country. This could be interpreted to mean that so-called ‘legal’ online casinos are those that offer services to South African players, but don’t actually operate in South Africa.
Two very interesting parts of SA online gambling legalisation (which can be found on the National Gambling Board website: http://www.ngb.org.za/faqs.aspx) state that, “A person must not engage in or make available an interactive game except as authorised in terms of this Act or any other national law.” Additionally, it states that “Online betting is legal with a licensed South African bookmaker.” These statements are confusing to the layperson, to say the least, which is why many people say that the law regarding SA online casinos is open to interpretation.

Should SA Online Casinos be Legal?

There are many academics, especially economists, who are of the opinion that online gambling should be completely legal in South Africa and they may have good reason to think this. A recent Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) report on gambling revenues stated that in 2014, the sector brought revenues of R23.9-billion, an amount that is predicted to rise to R30.3-billion in 2019. In terms of taxes, it was reported that the total amount received by the government in taxes from casinos was a staggering R2.5-billion in 2014 with sports betting (especially horse racing) and EBTs (Electronic Bingo Terminals) doing well in terms of revenue collection.
These figures are based solely on legal casinos, the national lottery, EBTs and sports betting and do not take into account the online casinos that are currently considered to be ‘not regulated’. Considering the rather uncertain economic climate South Africa is currently facing, and the high taxes both private citizens and businesses face, economists have posed a very important question in regards to the legality of online casinos in South Africa, i.e. how much money could be going into South Africa’s coffers if online gambling was legal? Though this would be a very difficult figure to predict, it does set the mind to wondering just how much larger our GDP (Gross Domestic Product) could be if the government declared SA online gambling legal.

The Future of Online Casinos in SA

So what will the future bring? Will we see the South African government give SA players the chance to play when and where they want to? In all likelihood, this is not something the government is too focused on given the current state of affairs but should a more permanent Finance Minister be selected, we may see a big change how the moneymaking potential of online casinos is handled.