South Africa decides against legalising online gambling

In the framework of the South Africa’s Plan for Online GamblingWell, the South African government objects legalising online activities.

South Africa.- According to a policy document released by the Department of Trade and Industry, the South African Government finally decided against legalising online gambling.

The reason provided by the South African Government was that legalising online activities would affect negatively the land-based competitive market and its ability to create jobs, as the land-based gambling facilities already do.

On the other hand, South Africa allows online sports betting. Therefore, online sports betting in South Africa will be allowed to continue, but anti-illegal gambling enforcement will be initiated through the National Gambling Act amendments. This will force internet service providers to ban all access to illegal websites and forbid financial institutions to process any banking transactions.

The National Gambling Regulator will be responsible for monitoring the ISP block and criminal activity when operators aren’t complying. The National Gambling Regulator has already hired more staff at a provincial level to accommodate the enforcement measures.