South Africa to revolutionise online gambling laws
New bill set to repeal 2008 National Gambling Act and radically overhaul laws with online casino products legalised
A new gambling bill proposing to radically overhaul South Africa’s online gaming laws and legalise online casino products for the first time is about to be introduced to parliament, eGaming Review can exclusively reveal.
The legislation, seen by eGR ahead of its tabling in parliament in the coming months, will attempt to repeal the 2008 National Gambling Act and also update the country’s remote gambling legislation.
Until now the only legal vertical for online gaming in South Africa has been sports betting but the new bill, being proposed by South African MP Geordin Hill-Lewis, proposes widening the framework to include additional verticals.
Wayne Lurie, director of South African gaming law firm Lurie, said that the developments come after substantial commercial pressure as part of a bid to stamp out South Africa’s unregulated egaming market.
“This is eight years overdue now and we’ve fallen behind international standards,” Lurie told eGR.
If passed, the Bill will see a regulatory model similar to that in Europe and Australia with no national monopoly and a licensing procedure overseen by both provincial and national governments.
Holders of existing gambling licences, such as Sportingbet and Krugerbets, will need to re-apply for a remote gambling licence if they are to operate online.
Operators will need to apply on a provincial basis “ South Africa has ten separate provinces “ in a similar fashion to how Australia has divided its regulatory procedures on a state-by-state basis.
Each Provincial Licensing Authority will process applications for their specific province, with a national board established to oversee regulation and “develop national norms and standards” for South Africa’s remote gambling industry.
Specific licences will be required for both operators and manufacturers and suppliers, while certain employees of operators will require their own licences in a similar fashion to how management employees of operators in New Jersey and Nevada have been required to obtain Key Personnel Licences.
Although the Bill allows for taxation to be decided on a provincial basis, Lurie has considered that the a state-set taxation level will be required to remove the threat of provincial competition for business, and a rate of 6% of GGR has been proposed in the past of which of 70% will be payable to provincial revenue funds, while the remaining 30% is to be paid to the country’s national revenue fund.
The Bill also includes extensive player protection methods with a complete prohibition on credit gambling, player exclusion regulations and the threat of licence suspension for operators found to be in contravention of the regulations.
“With this regulation, we can look to satisfy consumer demand and offer our customers a full suite of gambling products in a safe and secure online environment that abides to local regulatory controls and consumer protections,” Tyrone Dobbin, managing director of Sportingbet SA, said.
The Bill is due to be tabled before parliament in the coming months and a subsequent six-month period will be required to establish norms and standards. If operators are allowed to apply for licences during this process then developments could be seen and the first licences issued prior to this year’s end.
“If operators are forced to wait for this process to finish before applying, then it could be 18 months before the first licences are issued,” Lurie said.