Online gambling crackdown in South Africa

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) is cracking down on illegal online gambling in South Africa as the country’s gambling industry continues to grow significantly every year.

In a recent response to a Parliamentary question from the MK Party’s Musawenkosi Gasa, Trade, Industry, and Competition Minister Parks Tau outlined government initiatives to address South Africa’s illegal gambling problem.

In South Africa, gambling is regulated by the National Gambling Act of 2004, which establishes rules for both legal and illegal forms of gambling.

In short, online gambling, except for sports betting, is illegal in South Africa. This includes online casinos, online poker, and other forms of remote gambling.

Even if the website is based outside of South Africa, it remains illegal for South Africans to participate in these activities unless the National Gambling Board licenses the site.

However, betting on sports events, including horse racing and other sports, is legal and regulated in South Africa.

Only licensed bookmakers — empowered by provincial licensing authorities — can offer these services, both online and in physical locations.

Therefore, any gambling activity that operates without the appropriate license, including unlicensed online casinos or illegal gambling houses, is also considered illegal in South Africa.

“The department is aware of the growing challenge of illegal online gambling in South Africa,” – the minister said.

“There is also a challenge of illegal sports betting activities identified, wherein bookmakers are offering online gambling illegally.”

Tau said the National Gambling Board (NGB) is working closely in collaboration with law enforcement agencies to combat illegal gambling in the country, including unlawful online gambling.

“The collaborations include awareness campaigns. To strengthen initiatives, this matter will be discussed in the National Gambling Policy Council between the Minister, the Members of the Executive Council (MECs) in the provinces, PLAs and the NGB,” – he said.

It should be noted that Daily Maverick reported in December 2024 how the explosion of gambling in South Africa “is happening at a time when the NGB does not, in fact, have a board — and has not had a board for a decade”.

In his response, Tau also noted that the gambling industry is vital to the economy, contributing significantly through revenue generation and job creation.

The NGB published the National Gambling Statistics for the 2023/24 financial year near the end of last year.

These statistics revealed a gambling boom in South Africa, as the industry saw R1.1 trillion worth of wagers in the 2023/24 financial year.

This represents a 40.2% increase from the turnover generated during the previous financial year. Gross gambling revenue (GGR) amounted to R59.3 billion, a 25.7% increase from the previous year.

The report further revealed that most of this revenue came from betting, which generated 60.5% of industry GGR at R35.9 billion.

Therefore, online betting is a significant contributor to the country’s economy.

“Conversely, it also brings challenges, such as problem gambling and social issues, which require continued attention and responsive regulation,” – Tau said.

“There is collaboration between the DTIC, PLAs, the NGB and other institutions on issues of prevention of problem gambling through education and awareness programmes and workshops that take place annually in the nine provinces.”

“The licensees contribute a certain percentage of their GGR towards funding counselling and rehabilitation offered by the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation, which works closely with the NGB.”

In his reply to Gasa, the minister also noted the prevalence of advertisements for online betting in South Africa. Betting companies are some of the biggest advertisement spenders in South Africa.

The minister explained that to address gaps in advertising and its societal impacts, the National Gambling Amendment Bill of 2016 was adopted by the Cabinet and introduced in Parliament in 2018.

This Bill included stricter advertising regulations, such as preventing unsolicited SMS and MMS promoting gambling.

However, due to time constraints, the Portfolio Committee reduced the Bill to address urgent matters, and the revised Bill lapsed with the dissolution of the Sixth Parliament.

It was later revived by the Seventh Parliament. He said the DTIC plans to revisit unresolved amendments, including advertising restrictions, in future legislative efforts.

Source: dailyinvestor.com

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Samuel

I am a journalist specializing in gambling in Africa and around the world. I am particularly interested in stories about games and casinos.

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Samuel

I am a journalist specializing in gambling in Africa and around the world. I am particularly interested in stories about games and casinos.