Using the Internet to buy a product or service for which the producer would otherwise require a licence is illegal. Thus implies a ruling by the North Gauteng High Court, which has affirmed South Africa's jurisdiction over online gambling services.
In line with the government's recent proclivity for outrageous punishments, you can spend the next decade in jail for letting a bloke from Benoni take a shot at poker stardom, or allowing a biddy from Bellville to play bingo for a tenner a game. Why this is any different from fleecing the same people at gaudy super-casinos may appear to be a bit confusing.
The line that is usually trotted out, both by government and by the casinos eager to look docile and compliant, is that regulation protects South African citizens who engage in gambling. This is, of course, bunkum.
The reason South Africans choose to indulge in online gambling are manifold. The environment is much less intimidating than the horrible, gaudy casinos that are the result of previous licensing decisions. You can play any time, from anywhere with a data connection, without the cost in time and money of travelling to a physical location. You get useful assistance in mastering the complexities of some of the games, and you get better matched with games that suit your experience and skill. It is cheaper.
It's the last bit that offers the real reason why the government cannot abide online gambling services. Physical casinos enrich provincial governments by means of substantial licence fees and a super-tax over and above what a company would pay in any case. Online casinos not based and registered in South Africa, on the other hand, don't pay the man. As a result, they can offer better odds, better service, and better prices to the punter, which is anathema to a government that wants a share in the fleecing.
In line with the government's recent proclivity for outrageous punishments, you can spend the next decade in jail for letting a bloke from Benoni take a shot at poker stardom.
Ivo Vegter, ITWeb contributor
In the process of delivering a service that many gamblers clearly believe is superior to the limited options offered by the gambling cartel in South Africa, the online gambling industry has created a great many jobs. Many of them are in the IT industry, and many of them are filled by South Africans. I know several personally. The industry also spends fortunes on advertising, which supports a vibrant, free media in this country. None of that counts if the big boss doesn't get his cut, however.
Trouble is, the enforcement of a domestic law against international business conducted online is a challenge. The United States, with all its resources, found it impossible to police a ban on online gambling, which merely served to drive the business underground. It is hastily revising the rules to permit them, licence them and tax them instead. The same has happened in other countries that tried to ban online gambling.
South Africa also aims to license a few local operators. Far too few, of course, making it yet another cartel in the gravy train. However, it is also drawing up plans to attack foreign operators who don't want to share the loot with our government.
The trick will be to attack not the criminals themselves - those who offer gambling services without paying our government for the privilege of exploiting South African citizens - but the players and intermediaries.
The primary weapon will be other government-controlled cartels, namely banking and Internet service providers. They will be held liable for facilitating transactions with non-licensed online gambling providers. Likewise, the media, which will not be permitted to accept advertising for non-licensed online gaming.
In short, the heavy bureaucratic cost of enforcing the government's refusal to be cut out of any mob deal that looks profitable will be borne not by online gamblers, but by everyone who banks or has Internet access.
And we wonder why 50% of South Africans are unbanked, and even more lack a decent Internet connection?
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