Internet Gambling to be Made Legal if South Africa's Trade and Industry Minister Accepts the Recommendations of Gambling Board

After the special committee setup by South Africa’s national Gambling Board finished investigating the online gambling industry in South Africa, the Gambling Board was ready to recommend that Internet gambling be made legal in the country.

The special investigative committee traveled the country learning about the Internet gambling craze and interviewed professionals within the Internet gambling industry, and concluded that the activity should be legal.  The committee included as one of its advisors, Andrew Beveridge, CEO of eCOGRA.

So far, South Africa’s position on online gambling is that it is illegal and law enforcement there has carried out raids at Internet gambling sites accordingly, but all that may change if the Trade and Industry minister, Mandisi Mpahlwa, accepts the recommendations of the national gambling board that online gambling be legalized.

Not as pervasive as in some countries, online gambling in South Africa is limited to those that have regular access to the Internet – a relatively small number in a country populated by over 42 million people.  The country does possess, however, a sophisticated communication and IT infrastructure and is home to many of the industry's leading entrepreneurs. The use of cell phones is also widespread and growing.

If Mpahlwa does decide to legalize online gambling, many South African companies will benefit from the decision.  It is an industry that is growingly rapidly and generating tremendous profits.  According to research firm Christiansen Capital Advisors, in 2001the industry was worth US$3 billion per year and, by 2004 had grown to more than $8.2 billion per year. By 2010, the market is expected to triple to almost $25 billion per year.

CEO of the national Gambling Board, Thibedi Majake, is of the belief that there is really no choice but to make online gambling legal.  It's a phenomenon that is almost unstoppable," he says. Majake also said that South African’s are already placing bets online, and there's little that can be done to stop them.

The board listed several reasons in favor of legalizing Internet gambling.  Among the reasons supplied was that the legalization of online gambling would provide legal protection for local gamblers; it would prevent "criminal influence and exploitation" in the industry; and it would promote the development of an interactive gambling industry in South Africa.

If Mpahlwa does accept the board recommendations and legalizes online gambling, the process of legalization would be quick, requiring no new gambling legislation and only new regulations to govern it.

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