ANC rejects claims of inaction on illegal online gambling
Mzwandile Masina, Chair of the Trade, Industry and Competition Committee, asserted that ANC won’t support a ban on the regulated gambling sector, given its role in creating employment opportunities.
South Africa.- The African National Congress (ANC) has pushed back against opposition parties’ claims that it has been slow to tackle the online gambling crisis, which was the central issue debated in parliament last Friday.
Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana, who initiated the mini-plenary debate, argued that the ANC’s failure to act was glaringly evident in the seven-year hiatus of the national gambling policy council and the lack of a formal gambling board for more than 10 years.
His views were echoed by Democratic Alliance MP Toby Chance, who also blamed the ANC for not enacting the 2008 National Gambling Amendment Act. He said: “The ANC government has shown, over these 16 years, that it has no intention of protecting players and the industry from criminal elements. Money from online gambling is largely flowing offshore, enriching foreign companies at the expense of desperate South Africans.”
However, Sheila Xego, ANC MP, rejected the criticism calling the debate “nothing but a performative act”. She pointed out that the ANC government had demonstrated prompt action nearly 30 years ago with the introduction of the National Gambling Act of 1996, which had become a model for other African countries. She clarified that the ANC-led government didn’t enact the 2008 Amendment Act because its provisions quickly became outdated due to the rapidly changing gambling sector.
Mzwandile Masina, Chair of the Trade, Industry and Competition Committee, also dismissed the claims that the ANC has been inactive while online gambling drained the finances of low-income and working-class families. He said: “The ANC-led government has acted before and continues to act against the gambling industry crisis, even though its actions are treated with suspicion and cynicism at some point.”
Masina asserted that ANC won’t support a ban on the regulated gambling sector, given its role in creating employment opportunities. According to figures released by the National Gambling Board (NGB), the gambling sector provides jobs for approximately 33,169 people directly and more than 144,000 indirectly, and contributed around R5.8 billion (€288m) in taxes and levies during the 2024-25 financial year.
