National Gambling Board of South Africa (NGB) Vacancies. The Board will be guided by its recruitment and selection policy to advertise its positions. Therefore, the Board will advertise vacant posts through appropriate media including its website. Until recently, all forms of gambling were fully banned in South Africa. The initial National Gambling Act of 1994 lifted the restrictions to give the green light to a comprehensive gambling licensing system. Online gambling, however, remains suspended under the provisions of the National Gambling Act of 2004. South Africa’s gambling regulators were suspended for giving themselves raises and traveling in style on the taxpayer’s dime, according to the minister overseeing their behaviour.
Gambling in South Africa has been heavily restricted since 1673, with South Africa's Gambling Act of 1965 officially banning all forms of gambling except betting on horse racing which existed as a sporting activity.
In the late 1970s casinos started operating in the bantustans (the nominally independent areas called homelands) of Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei and Venda. Only native South Africans lived there and most citizens couldn't access those gaming establishments. By 1995 an estimated 2000 illegal casinos were believed to be operating within the country. In 1994, when the new democratic government came to power, all forms of gambling were legalised. In 1996 the National Gambling Act instituted a system of licensed casinos and a single national lottery. Horse racing was also proclaimed gambling activity.[1]
The National Gambling Act of 1996 made provisions for the regulation of gambling activities and promotion of uniform norms and standards in relation to gambling throughout the country. It gave definitions to different gambling notions, described how the 40 gambling licenses should be distributed among the provinces and provided information on liability. It also established the National Gambling Board, an organisation responsible for the supervision and regulation of the gambling industry. This change in legislation saw the establishment of legal casinos, a national lottery and other forms of gaming.[2]
In 2004, another National Gambling Act repealed the Act of 1996. And in 2008 The National Gambling Amendment Act was introduced.
- 2Types of gambling
- 3Online gambling
Prevalence and value[edit]
According to the 2006 study the most popular forms of gambling in South Africa were the National Lottery (96.9% participation), slot machines (27.7% participation), scratchcards (22.7% participation), charity jackpot competitions (11.6% participation) and horse racing betting (11.5% participation). 8.3% of respondents said they have never gambled and a further 5.5% characterised themselves as occasional game players with no regular forms of gambling.[3]
In the 2006/2007 financial year licensed gross gambling revenue as monitored by the National Gambling Board totalled R13.52 billion, from R11.4 billion the previous year. 86.2 percent of that revenue was derived in casinos.[4] In the same period the Board reported a total of 455 raids on and closures of presumed illegal gambling operations.[5]
South Africa’s gambling revenues are projected to rise to R30 billion in 2019, according to a new report. The South African gambling industry – including casinos, sports betting, the National Lottery, limited payout machines and bingo – achieved gross gambling revenue of R26.3bn in 2016.
Types of gambling[edit]
South African National Lottery[edit]
The South African National Lottery was established in 2000 and has been in continuous operation since, apart from a suspension between April 2007 and October 2007. In its last year of operation transaction values totalled R3.972 billion, with an average of five million transactions per week, making it the most popular form of gambling in South Africa. South Africa known as one of the largest countries participate in UK49s lottery draw operated by Ladbrokes Coral.
Gambling revenue from the National Lottery is projected to increase to R2.33 billion in 2019.[6]
Casinos[edit]
Casinos operate in all metropolitan areas in South Africa. With the largest being the Rio Casino Resort, which is also the largest casino in Africa and the fifth-largest casino in the world.[citation needed] Tsogo Sun Montecasino, also located in Johannesburg, is another of South Africa's largest casinos.
Horse racing[edit]
On-track betting on horse races was the only legal form of gambling in South African until 1996. Due to its complexity and the difficulty of attracting new players it did not effectively compete with the newly introduced National Lottery and casino games.[7]
Betting on horse races is controlled by Saftote and operated by Gold Circle in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape and by Phumelela in the remainder of the country.[8]
Online gambling[edit]
Licensed gambling sites[edit]
Each of South Africa's nine provinces has a gambling and racing board. To offer online betting bookies must be licensed by one of these boards. Currently the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board (WCGRB) is largest provider of online bookmaker licenses.[9] South Africa residents can use these online betting sites legally. For bets involving horse racing 6% is deducted from winning to cover VAT. As of May 2012, no additional tax is charged to recreational bettors, and recreational gambling winnings are not considered income for income tax purposes.[10]
South African Gambling Board Suspended Board
Online gaming laws[edit]
The National Gambling Act 2004 prohibited both offering interactive gambling services and engaging in interactive games (games on the Internet).[11] This rule applies to all online operators, licensed in any jurisdiction. It's however important to note interactive gambling relates specifically to games such as casino, poker and bingo. Online sports betting, online horse race betting and the business of bookmaking is lawful in South Africa, provided that the person conducting such business holds the necessary provincial bookmaker's licence(s), or is using a website with proper licence(s).
The National Gambling Amendment Act of 2008 that was published in July 2008 was meant to be an attempt to legalise interactive gambling in the country and make provisions for the regulation of this market. The Amendment Act was actively confronted by the interested parties (land-based gambling houses and anti-money laundering authorities). For this reason, the Act hasn't come into power yet.
On 20 August 2010 even online gambling offered through servers located outside the country was banned in South Africa. This was the result of the North Gauteng High Court judgement on the jurisdiction of online gambling transactions in the country. Consequently, both offering gambling services online and gambling online became illegal. The only exceptions are province licensed horse racing and online sports betting. Casino sites, individuals, internet service providers and banks that process payments for online gamblers are subject to a fine of R 10 million or 10 years of imprisonment, or both. Mass media channels that transmit or facilitate advertisement of online gambling services (TV and radio, newspapers and magazines, outdoor advertising agencies) are also to be held liable.[12]
The South African Department of Trade and Industry also suggested to consider penny auctions a type of online gambling and illegalise them. The National Gambling Amendment Act of 2008 may come into force after an appeal to a high court ruling against 'interactive gambling' is heard.[13]
References[edit]
- ^Stephen P. Rule; Terezinha Da Silva; Chris Sibanyoni (2000). The Social Impact of Gambling in South Africa. HSRC Press. p. 8. ISBN0-7969-1971-2.
- ^National Gambling Act, 1996 [No. 33 of 1996] – G 17307
- ^'Problem Gambling Prevalence Study 2006'(PDF). National Responsible Gambling Programme. Archived from the original(PDF) on 9 October 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
- ^'National gambling statistics for the financial year ending 31 March 2007'. National Gambling Board. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
- ^'Illegal Gambling statistics for the financial year ending 31 March 2006'. National Gambling Board. Archived from the original on 6 August 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
- ^'How much is the South African gambling market worth?'. www.bettinggods.com. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^'Speech by Thibedi Majake (CEO of the National Gambling Board) at the 2006 national convention of Racing South Africa'. Racing South Africa. Retrieved 22 September 2008.[dead link]
- ^'Sport: Horse racing in South Africa'. SouthAfrica.info. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
- ^WCGRB Licensed Betting Sites
- ^Legal South Africa Betting Sites
- ^'Online Gambling Remains Unlawful in South Africa'. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^Online Gambling Banned in Africa
- ^Online Gambling in SA: Is It Legal?
External links[edit]
For the time being, South Africa is considered the most prosperous one of all African nations, despite its recent history is marked by periods of political and economic turbulence. The country, however, seems ready to use its people and national resources on its way to building a modern and successful nation.
Despite being on its way to “modernization”, South Africa has taken a stiffer approach to gambling. Currently, online gambling is strictly prohibited in the country, with local citizens being subjected to extremely harsh penalties in case of being accused of visiting gambling websites. Playing in an online casino from South Africa could result in a 10-year imprisonment sentence or a serious monetary fine.
And still, are such restrictions necessary? Until recently, all forms of gambling were fully banned in South Africa. The initial National Gambling Act of 1994 lifted the restrictions to give the green light to a comprehensive gambling licensing system. Online gambling, however, remains suspended under the provisions of the National Gambling Act of 2004.
However, a number of considerations related to the legalization of online gambling have emerged in the country. Since the beginning of President Ramaphosa’s term, there have been some signs of recovery in many aspects of the South African economy, so iGaming could be on the way, too.
South Africa is home to 75% of the largest companies in Africa, and a massive portion of its money is generated through mining of diamonds and gold, but this has not been enough to exclude any wider economic issues. Moderate growth of its gross domestic product (GDP) was reported in 2018 (0.7%), while unemployment remaining a major concern. On the other hand, the country’s national debt is more than 50% of GDP, with the highest rate since 2009 reached in 2017. The public debt is also projected to rise over the next three-year period to about 66% of the GDP.
All of the above-said, along with the concerning inflation prospects could mean that the nation would soon need a fresh revenue source to keep the overall improving economic picture for the country. And, after all, why not making online gambling part of the game?
Online Gambling Remains Banned under the National Gambling Act of 2004
As mentioned above, online gambling is outlawed by the National Gambling Act of 2004. Then, in 2008, an amendment aimed at legalizing iGaming had been proposed to be brought to the Act, but despite being passed, it was never brought to action by the Parliament. Two years later, a further piece of legislation which provided overseas operators to offer their services to local players was passed. This measure, however, made it effectively impossible for players with an IP address in the country to gamble online.
Since then, the position of South Africa’s Parliament was reiterated, until finally, an amendment to the National Gambling Act of 2004 was made to cement the online gambling ban.
At the same time, however, local authorities remain more restrictive to online casinos. Things are quite different when it comes to online betting, as the South African authorities seem to be welcoming this type of gambling. Online betting is currently available in all nine provinces of the country and the activity is being regulated by the National Gambling Board, which is set to be soon renamed to the National Gambling Regulator.
As a matter of fact, gambling has turned into a huge economy sector in South Africa. According to reports, a huge number of local residents play the lottery, with approximately 96% of South Africans having purchased a lottery ticket in the past. More than 25% of the population is also engaged in slot games. Many other people find traditional casinos and horse racing, both of which have recently been made legal by the local Government, fascinating.
Casino gambling was officially legalized in the country in the 1990s. At that time, the casino operation licenses were evenly distributed among the South African provinces. Currently, there are more than 40 traditional land-based casinos which offer their licensed services in the country. The number of land-based gambling facility rises to 60 when horse racing tracks are also taken into account.
The last twenty years, however, have seen online gambling rise in popularity on a global scale, disrupting the dominance of brick-and-mortar casinos. That is one of the main reasons why many have called for the South African authorities to review its stance on the online gambling issues and consider possible legalization of online casinos in the country.
Online Casino Gambling Legalization Aspects
When it comes to the addition of online gambling to the legal gambling sector of South Africa, there were several pieces of legislation rolled out in the last decade which, unfortunately, do not give much space for optimism that local authorities would do that in the near future.
As mentioned above, in 2008, the National Gambling Amendment Act was rolled out aiming to legalize online gambling in the country. However, the possible addition of this form of gambling has provoked much controversy, so the amendment was fully passed about a decade later, in August 2018. Unfortunately, it had to be considerably narrowed by keeping the ban on online gambling and dog racing in order for the Parliament to give it the green light.
For the time being, sports betting and horse racing are the only gambling activities which are available online for South African residents. Any law-breaking is followed by massive monetary fines. Of course, the strict measures to prevent online casino gambling from happening does not necessarily guarantee that everyone in the country would be ready to observe the restriction.
According to estimates, around 5% of the national gambling spend is generated on illegal online gambling, with the figure representing around ZAR1.5 billion on an annual basis.