Interactive gambling needed now

Local gambling operators have called on government to finalise interactive gambling regulations, saying delays will only harm the booming industry.

Speaking during recent public hearings on gambling regulations, director of business development and compliance for Phumelela Gaming and Leisure, Mpho Ramafalo, called on government to introduce interactive gambling regulations.

Parliament and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) held the recent hearings. Amendments to either regulate or prohibit interactive gambling will only be tabled once submissions have been discussed by the DTI.

“South Africans are already patronising available interactive gambling sites elsewhere and local operators are lagging behind,” says Ramafalo.

In August, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry requested that the implementation of the regulations on interactive gambling be delayed. Following the publishing of regulations for public comment in February, the department acknowledged that the legislation needed to be reviewed.

“Although it was hard to police Internet gambling, licensed Internet gambling options are preferable to prohibition. Problem gambling would also not be reduced through prohibition. Prohibition would also cancel out the gambling industry's contribution to revenue and employment creation. Under-age gambling and money laundering activities would flourish if prohibition was opted for,” Alicia Gibson, industry and legal consultant to AG Consulting, said in her submission to Parliament.

While the DTI previously stated the National Gambling Act needs to be tightened to deal with loopholes which could expose the practice to illegal activities such as cybercrime and money laundering, operators say security is not the biggest concern.

All operators agreed that current regulations were implemented unequally across provinces and this created big challenges.

The imbalanced legislative approach, which does not take commercial considerations into account, the inconsistent implementation of legislation across different provinces, proposals to introduce tougher proposals around interactive gambling, as well as the delay around licensing and regulation were the biggest challenges identified by industry representatives.

Ramafalo added the proposed regulations involved “lengthy and onerous” registration processes, which would make local Web sites unattractive to potential players.

The National Gambling Board (NGB), which is tasked with monitoring all licensed operators, will issue only 10 interactive gambling licences. All licences will be provided on a national level to operators that can prove they have a physical presence locally, and all financial transactions would also have to be located within SA.

Lazelle Parton, corporate affairs manager for Thuo Gaming SA, says the Act should allow for more than one monitoring system to be used in the industry, saying more attention should be given to electronic devices and gaming equipment.

“As payouts within the industry are limited, the amounts of money laundering incidences were found to be negligible - but there should be multiple monitoring systems,” she says.

Certification and licensing of operators and equipment by the NGB should be enforced, and Financial Intelligence Centre Act employees should also be compelled to monitor these machines and report any suspicious activities, she adds.