It is unlikely South Africans will see online gambling legalised in the country in the short-term, as government seems to be dragging its feet.
The Remote Gambling Bill, initially gazetted by Democratic Alliance shadow minister of trade and industry Geordin Hill-Lewis in April - to speed up the legalisation of online gambling - had to be re-gazetted last week.
This, says Hill-Lewis, is because the Parliamentary speaker argued too much time had elapsed since it was first released for public comment, and ruled it needs to be released for comment again.
"This delay was as a result of the offline discussions I was having with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) about the issue in an attempt to find a unified position," he explains. In 2011, the Gambling Review Commission recommended online gambling be legalised as a matter of urgency.
"However, after several months, it became clear the DTI had not yet developed its own policy position and, if anything, favoured the prohibition of online gambling. I've, therefore, decided to press ahead with my Bill, and it will be tabled in Parliament in late January 2015."
The Remote Gambling Bill was initially gazetted as a private member's Bill, because it had been languishing in Parliament for some time. The Bill aims to regulate and license remote gambling in SA, provide for uniform norms and standards, and prevent minors and vulnerable people from being exposed to the "negative effects of gambling".
The proposed law also aims to ensure the provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act are adhered to, and protect the public and licensed remote gamblers from fraud such as money laundering and the financing of terrorist and related activities.
Lacking appetite
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) released its third annual report on the gambling industry last week, titled "Raising the stakes in Africa: Gambling outlook 2014-2018 (South Africa - Nigeria - Kenya)".
PwC hospitality and gambling industry leader for SA, Nikki Forster, agrees there seems to be little immediate appetite from the DTI to legalise online gambling. This, she says, is due to two main reasons: "This is not seen as something that will create jobs, and government also feels online gambling will fuel gambling addiction."
However, Forster feels the gambling addiction argument would need more research. "I'm not entirely sure if this is true." She adds government should consider that it is potentially missing out on millions of rands in annual revenue due to its reluctance to legalise online gambling.
Physical gambling was legalised in SA in 1996 and has since mushroomed into a multibillion-rand industry, with turnover doubling between 2001 and 2009. In the year to March 2013 - the latest figures available - punters wagered R281.8 billion, the bulk of which was at casinos.
Forster points out if online gambling is controlled, there should be no reason why government would not be able to regulate the collection of revenue and ensure it adds to the fiscus.
Share