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.
Anti-online gambling laws had been on the books in South Africa for years, but had been largely ignored by players and unenforced by authorities.Government officials cited the potential for money. The answer to whether online or interactive gambling is legal in South Africa, is a simple and unequivocal NO with the exception of online sports betting. Section 11 of the NGA, entitled 'Unauthorised interactive gaming unlawful', expressly states that 'a person must not engage.
- South Africa is one of these countries that have started to revise their online gambling laws and regulations. It is very important to know whether online casinos have already become legal in South Africa or it is still illegal to perform online gambling in this country There are still unanswered questions regarding online gambling in South Africa.
- South Africa is a country which restricts online gambling. There are a few notable exceptions, of course, such as the national lottery, sports betting (to a degree) and horse racing. Despite the relatively strict approach South Africa takes to online gambling, many citizens continue to flout the laws of the country by betting on the internet.
- An amendment to South Africa's gambling law is in the works, which will allow licenses to be issued to online casinos. This National Gambling Amendment Act was signed into law in 2008 and is.
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 is one of these countries that have started to revise their online gambling laws and regulations. It is very important to know whether online casinos have already become legal in South Africa or it is still illegal to perform online gambling in this country There are still unanswered questions regarding online gambling in South Africa.
- South Africa is a country which restricts online gambling. There are a few notable exceptions, of course, such as the national lottery, sports betting (to a degree) and horse racing. Despite the relatively strict approach South Africa takes to online gambling, many citizens continue to flout the laws of the country by betting on the internet.
- An amendment to South Africa's gambling law is in the works, which will allow licenses to be issued to online casinos. This National Gambling Amendment Act was signed into law in 2008 and is.
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 like most parts of the world permits gambling activities and you will find a wide range of land-based casinos to play your favourite games at. However, unlike in most countries, online casinos are not allowed to operate legally in South Africa. Although online gambling is restricted, players can still play their favourite casinos at some online casinos which allows South African players to register. It does not stop there as there has not been any record of players being charged with crimes of playing at an online casino. For this reason, only online casinos are restricted from being licensed in the country but players are not stopped from playing their favourite casino games online and enjoying the benefits that come with online casinos. Go to the onlinecasino-za site to get more information on online casinos and gambling.
All About Gambling Laws and Casinos
In South Africa, even though gambling activities are legal, online casinos and online gambling are restricted. For this reason, you will not find any online casinos operating in the country. However, players still have the chance to play their favourite casino games online as there are several online casinos that players in South Africa can play casino games. It does not even stop there as some were exclusively created for players in South Africa. So, if you will like to play at an online casino, it is advised that you go for online casinos that are created exclusively for players in South Africa for a better gaming experience. You can go to the aliceindataland site to find out more about playing at online casinos. Below you will find a list of online casinos you can give a try.
- Dunder
- 888 Casino
- Ritz Casino
- Springbok Casino
Historically, gambling has always been a part of South Africa but centuries ago, gambling activities were restricted in the entire country. However, that did not stop players from gambling. Even with the restrictions, there were many casinos and people were gambling in groups especially in areas that were referred to as Homelands. After a long time of hidden gambling activities, in 1994, the Government created the 1994 Gambling Act which saw the re-introduction of gambling in the country. However, before the act was enacted, there were already over 2000 casinos running in South Africa which were later subjected to closing. In 2005, another Gambling Act was presented and inside, online casinos were prohibited in the country. As a result, only casinos with a proper license have the chance to operate in South Africa and online casinos aren't licensed.
The embargo was said to be as a result of the economical gain land-based casinos provide to the country. To cub any form of competition between online casinos and actual casinos, the Government decided to ban all online casinos from operating in the country. Today, there are a lot of casinos in the country and they are known to have lots of players visit them. But, that has not stopped players from also playing their favourite casino games at online casinos. Due to the fact that there is a lot of benefits that players enjoy when they choose to play at an online casino. Additionally, players are given the freedom to play as many games as possible when they play online. Also, to become a member can be done with ease as long as you choose to play at a proper online casino.
South Africa Online Gambling Lawyers
Online casinos come with more benefits than the risk. In most cases, the risk of playing is down to the illegal online casinos who are looking to scam players of their money and information. As long as you can filter through the bad casinos through the use of some expert techniques. These techniques include reading through other player reviews of the casino, confirming the casino's license, ensuring that the games offered are from top online casino game providers, and so on. Once you are able to take your time to vet the online casino you want to join, you will not have a problem. In addition to that, it is advised that you look through the casino's terms and conditions for a better gaming experience. On a final note, you can play your favourite casino games online in South Africa without stress.
