South Africa: Gambling board in hot water over cockfight betting
Eastern Cape regulator refuses to pull plug on cockfight betting, challenging national laws.
South Africa.- In a defiant move that’s stunned lawmakers and enraged animal rights groups, the Eastern Cape Gambling Board (ECGB) has refused a direct order from Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau to stop a South African bookmaker from offering bets on cockfighting – a blood sport banned under local law.
At the centre of the controversy is Roosterbet, a bookmaker offering live-streamed bets on cockfights taking place in the Philippines. While such fights are illegal to promote or profit from in South Africa under the Animals Protection Act, and despite the Philippines outlawing online cockfighting in 2022, Roosterbet’s operations continue with the ECGB’s blessing.
The regulator claims that because the fights take place abroad, they fall outside South African jurisdiction.
“Lawful contingency,” said ECGB CEO Mabutho Zwane in a letter to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), according to the Daily Maverick.
This effectively gives Roosterbet the green light.
Warning from NSPCA
The NSPCA had warned Roosterbet in late 2024, highlighting the cruelty and legal breaches of streaming cockfights. Roosterbet initially backed down, promising to remove the content while awaiting guidance. But when Zwane gave his blessing, the bets were back on.
Minister Tau’s office responded swiftly, siding with the NSPCA. The minister ordered the ECGB to clamp down and stop the betting, citing clear violations of both the Animals Protection Act and the National Gambling Act. But in an extraordinary act of regulatory rebellion, the ECGB refused, arguing the law doesn’t apply to events abroad.
“The ECGB’s actions not only make a mockery of animal welfare, but also of South Africa’s constitutional order,” legal analyst Thandi Maseko is quoted as telling the publication.
“This is not just about cockfighting – it’s about who gets to interpret and enforce the law in South Africa.”
The implications go far beyond feathers and betting slips. The NSPCA is now exploring legal action, and there are mounting calls for Zwane’s dismissal.
The fight has also landed on the table of the National Gambling Policy Council, the country’s highest regulatory body. Whether it can rein in the ECGB remains to be seen.
