The National Gambling Board is hopeful of a ruling in its favour when the Supreme Court of Appeal hears Piggs Peak's appeal against an earlier judgement that made online gambling illegal in SA.
The board says a ruling confirming the illegality of interactive gambling would enable it to prosecute operators and punters as it would provide a solid precedent.
Last August, a North Gauteng High Court ruling ended years of arguments around where the technical act of gambling takes place, and whether it would be considered legal if hosted outside of SA.
The ruling, handed down in Johannesburg by judge Neil Tuchten, determined the act of gambling takes place at the punter's computer, and not where the server is located.
Piggs Peak owner Casino Enterprises is set to appeal the decision, which will be heard next Tuesday.
The company, based in Swaziland, took the Gauteng Gambling Board to court in 2006, after the board put a stop to it advertising its online gambling service in the province.
Gambling is a multibillion-rand industry locally; punters waged R215.8 billion in the year to March 2010 and government earned R1.6 billion in taxes from the official sector, according to the latest figures from the National Gambling Board. Globally, online gambling is worth about 7% of the physical industry.
National Gambling Board chief compliance officer Themba Marasha says online gambling is a “big” problem. However, due to a lack of statistics, he is unable to quantify the issue.
International operators are not licensed in SA, which means the board is not privy to their statistics, says Marasha. He says the problem only becomes evident when the board receives complaints.
New sites “mushroom” overnight and many are only around for a few months before either closing up shop, or reappearing under a different guise, notes Marasha.
Waiting game
The board has yet to prosecute anyone for gambling online illegally, says Marasha. He explains it is waiting for the court to rule on the Piggs Peak matter, which will hopefully set a legal precedent.
Marasha adds that a ruling in the board's favour will also allow it to enter into mutual agreements with international jurisdictions, which can then be used to stop offshore enterprises offering services to local punters.
The National Gambling Board has several cases in the pipeline, waiting for the Piggs Peak appeal before it moves to prosecution stage, comments Marasha.
Piggs Peak says in a statement on its Web site that it will have to stop taking bets from South Africans if it loses the appeal.
“We will ensure that all players are notified and given adequate time to access the banking modules and redeem all remaining balances due to them,” says the casino.
Piggs Peak is still operating pending the decision, which it expects within a few weeks.
Current legislation in SA - the National Gambling Act of 2004 - does not provide for online gambling.
Online - or interactive - gambling was set to be made legal by an amendment to the Act. However, the Bill stalled in August 2009 when the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry decided that the entire gambling sector in SA should be reviewed.
The Gambling Review Commission has since recommended that online wagering be legalised, and more than 10 licences issued. However, Marasha says this process could take some time, as the topic has not yet been set down for public comment, and there are several more steps that must be followed before a new law can be enacted.
The board has a number of initiatives under way, including freezing money that comes into SA from international operators through a relationship with the South African Reserve Bank, says Marasha. It also liaises with the Hawks, the elite arm of the South African Police Service, to trace illegal gambling activities, he adds.
Share