Currently South Africans are unable to legally indulge in online gaming in SA — even if the casinos are based in another country or jurisdiction, or hold a license to operate from another country. However, Internet gambling may soon become legal. On Wednesday the Bill relating to Internet gambling went to the Select Committee of National Provinces. It will later be tabled in the National Assembly for final approval.Currently, there is no protection for consumers with regard to Internet gambling in SA. Should anyone have a claim against an online gaming site, they would have no recourse.
When online gambling becomes legal in SA, the providers of such services and Internet service providers may apply for licenses.
“The new law will enable people to license Internet gambling, and South African citizens will be able to operate within a protected environment,” said Marasha.
Evelyn Masotja, the director for regulated industries at the trade and industry department, said that currently, Internet gambling was prohibited in SA in terms of the National Gambling Act, Act 7 of 2004.
“The gambling law does have penalties for contraventions,” he warned.
Under the Act, the penalty for anyone convicted of an offense is a fine of up to R10-million or imprisonment not exceeding 10 years — or he or she could face both a fine and imprisonment.
Masotja said the intention behind wanting to regulate the online gambling environment was to protect consumers, not to punish them — and to put proper control and monitoring systems in place.
“Players involved in interactive gambling currently play at their own risk and there’s no regulatory environment to protect them,” he said.
Marasha said the local jurisdiction would allow Internet gambling if operators met the requirements of South African national technical standards.
Internet gaming options on offer overseas include casino-type games, slot machines, lotteries, sports betting, race wagering, bingo, person-to-person betting (such as poker) and blackjack.
Sourced from: http://mybroadband.co.za
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