NEW HEARINGS FOR SOUTH AFRICAN ONLINE GAMBLING

Saturday October 8, 2011 : Public invited to submit their suggestions and concerns
 
Following the defeat of online gambling operator Casino Enterprises in the Bloemfontein Court of Appeal earlier this week, there is renewed focus on the next step in the tortuous road to regulation in South Africa.
 
The latest Gambling Review Commission submitted its report some weeks ago, recommending that online gambling be licensed and regulated with a higher number of licenses to be made available.
 
The report is currently with the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Trade and Industry, according to a report on My Broadband this week, which spoke with Nkoatse Ernest Mashamaite, the deputy director of regulated industries at the DTI.
 
Mashamaite advised that the public hearings on the report will commence around mid-October, and there will be no further progress until these have been completed and the conclusions studied.
 
Online gambling therefore remains illegal in South Africa at the moment, with the National Gambling Board warning that offenders may face punitive action.
 
“Interactive gambling was unlawful even before the decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal,” Mashamaite told My Broadband. “What we had were some operators from foreign jurisdictions trying to test our legal system.”