March 3 - An interesting article appeared in the ITWeb publication regarding
the future of mobile gambling in South Africa.
According to the report, there is significant place for growth in this
market, despite the fact that the South African government has still not made a
final decision regarding a suitable legal framework for internet gambling.
The Executive Director of the National Responsible Gambling Program in South
Africa, Peter Collins, believes that the online gambling market, which is
estimated to be worth about R800 million, will grow even more thanks to the
introduction of gambling applications to new and existing cellphones.
At present, it is believed that there are over half a million online gamblers
in South Africa, with this number growing each year.
An industry expert, Arthur Goldstuck, is of the opinion that five more people
will join the World Wide Web in the next five years in South Africa, two million
of them through cell phones.
As such, the potential for mobile gambling is staggering.
The legal framework at the moment is complex in South Africa. Foreign
companies, citing ambiguous laws that are open to interpretation, continue to
offer their gambling services to South Africans.
For the government's part, although the pastime is theoretically not legal,
not much effort is put into actually enforcing existing laws.
If and when online gambling becomes a reality in South Africa, the National
Gambling Board has already stated that only ten licenses will be issued to
online gambling operators.
Conditions for having a license include having a physical presence in South
Africa. Naturally, preference will be given to those operators who have not
flouted the law until now.
In the meantime, some of the biggest names in the industry such as
Ladbrokes
and
Victor Chandler are inching towards South Africa's market, both to get a
share of the World Cup betting market, and also to ensure that they are 'en
place' when the gambling laws change.
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