South Africa’s gambling industry, dominated by casinos, bingo and the limited payout machine – the equivalent of AWPs - will not be threatened with any other form of gambling “for the moment”, according to a new National Gambling Policy issued by the country’s Department of Trade and Industry.
The final version of its paper, which has just been issued, does not leave room for internet gambling, arguing that this form of gambling "is not inherently labour intensive" and therefore the South African government remains sceptical that its legalising would produce significant jobs compared with other, regulated, activities.
The country does permit online sports betting, but bans online casino, poker and other activities. The plan is to create amendments to the National Gambling Act to ban internet service providers from accessing illegal gambling sites and banks will be prohibited from processing online gambling payments.
The National Gambling Board will be replaced by a National Gambling Regulator which will watch over gambling activities and ensure that illegal practices are curbed. The paper calls for increased vigilance by the police to ensure the suppression of illegal gambling and licensing authorities are requested to increase their inspectorate.
If necessary an independent tribunal to prioritise enforcement of illegal gambling penalties would be set up as an alternative to ensure that the authorities are proactive in suppressing illegal gambling. This would be funded by a combination of government and industry sources.
