Gambling Companies in SA Pinning Hopes on New Online Legislation

March 17 - Last week, a new bill relating to internet gambling in South Africa was sent to the Select Committee of National Provinces and will hopefully be tabled in the National Assembly for final approval in the near future.

This is good news for many in the country's gambling industry, especially casinos and gambling service providers who feel, if put mildly, that the present law is bad for business. Under the terms of the National Gambling Act, Act 7 of 2004 South Africa, any provider of online gambling services can face prosecution with fines of up to R10 million and/or imprisonment of up of 10 years. 

While the intention of the current legislation is to regulate the gambling environment in order to protect online consumers, there have been increased calls to legalize internet gambling, with the result being the drafting of a potential new law.

Gambling companies who provide services in and around the South African region are pinning their hopes on the new law. Casino Enterprises, that trades under Piggs Peak Casino, is a case in point. The company has been battling South African authorities to establish exactly where their gambling is located, with Casino Enterprises claiming that it is happening in Swaziland. "We pay our taxes there," says Howard Berchowitz, MD of the company.

Berchowitz believes that revenue from online gambling has to potential to grow substantially with new legislation in place, calling current income "reasonable, but nowhere near where the bricks and mortar are at the moment".

However, the chief operations officer of the National Gambling Board, Themba Marasha has warned that current offenders who are presently operating without a license have little chance of obtaining permission to operate their businesses under the new law. "Acts of wrongdoing will disqualify them should they want to apply for a license in the new South African gambling environment," he said.

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