Sports betting, casino gambling, lottery and horse racing betting are the only legal forms of gambling in South Africa, although there continues to be a thriving illegal online gambling industry, with millions of Rand pumped into online casinos based in places like Curacao, Malta and the United Kingdom. The rise in illegal gambling in South Africa 1 year ago Samuel. Post Views: 484. During the 1970s casinos began to spring up around the country and by the mid-90s it was estimated that there were well over 2,000 establishments operating illegally all across South Africa. But with the end of apartheid there was a sudden sea change in the law.

• Can You Go To Jail For Illegal Gambling
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• Illegal Gambling In South Africa
• What Are Illegal Gambling
• Report Illegal Gambling In South Africa

South Africa has been faced with strict gambling laws since the 1600s. In 1965, when the Gambling Act was introduced, all real money gambling became completely prohibited with the only exception of horse racing. This suppression of gambling soon led to a surge in illegal casino operations throughout Ciskei, Venda, Bobhuthatswana and Transkei in the 1970s –which posed significant problems for the country until they were able to put proper regulations in place in 1996.

Interestly, 1996 was also the year the National Gambling Board was established, creating a turning point for South Africa when all forms of real money gambling became legalised. On top of introducing a national lottery, 40 gaming licenses were also distributed to the various South African provinces to allow casino gaming such as table games, slot machines and poker rooms.

The Rise of Land-Based Casinos

In the years that followed, newly-licensed casinos began sprouting up across major cities such as Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg, quickly becoming the cornerstone of South Africa’s gambling industry due to their exotic layouts and luxurious red-carpet appeal.

Many of them were developed into all-inclusive resorts — and soon became a place where patrons, residents and tourists alike could lap up the 5-star experience of casinos, great entertainment, fine dining and a space to relax and unwind. The biggest of these casino resorts was, and continues to be, the Rio Casino Resort in Kierksdorp. At 266,330 square-feet, it’s also recorded as the 5^th largest casino in the world; however, it’s still not considered the ‘King’ of casinos in South Africa.

The industry’s most dominant land-based casino chain is Sun International Hotels LTD. This is the same company responsible for many of the multiple resorts, casinos, hotels and other extravagant facilities found around the country, of which now spans across other countries like Nigeria and Swaziland. The Sun is also recognised as being the first brand to officially cement itself into the South African gambling landscape.

Online Gambling

Can You Go To Jail For Illegal Gambling

In 2008, the National Board came close to legalising online gambling in South Africa, but fears over money laundering and religious upset pushed practically all internet-based gambling and advertising into prohibition. By 2010, the High Court of Gauteng confirmed that international vendors were strictly forbidden to offer any services to South African residents. Unsurprisingly — and just like in most countries where gambling is heavily restricted — this didn’t deter a handful of unlicensed betting sites from doing it anyway.

There are a select number of online casinos which are fully licensed to offer certain classes of games, plus licensed bookmakers able to accept wagers on provincial horse racing events and online sports bets. Like Yebo Casino, these are reputable operators which allow residents of recognised jurisdictions to legally wager on games for real money.

Illegal Gambling

In addition to online sites, there are a number of off-shore platforms which target players to gamble on casino games that aren’t permitted. The problem stands with the fact that the government hasn’t yet established any rules to prevent or give any reason for players not to gamble online, so many of them choose to risk playing games with these off-shore companies – regardless of what the law says.

If the operator gets caught, however, the matter is a different story. Any underground casinos or internet service providers found to be offering games without a license, processing gambler’s payments, or wrongfully advertising betting options to South African players are in violation of South African gambling laws. Any of these crimes can either lead to the operator facing a fine of up to R10 million, a 10-year prison sentence, or both. SA is estimated to lose millions in annual tax revenue from illegal gambling alone, which is why the punishment is so severe for the illegal casinos which eventually get caught out.

Conclusion

South Africa’s current laws may portray a country which isn’t able to offer much to gamblers right now, but South African casino resorts are rated some of the best in the world – so it’s probably safe to say that gambling will play an important and valuable piece in the economy’s jigsaw puzzle for years to come.

The biggest challenge is the illegal gaming that takes place, and the threats these organisations continue to pose to thousands of innocent players. The best and wisest decision you can make when you’re looking to gamble is to make sure you only ever sign up with reputable and legitimate casinos – no matter whether they are offline or online.

Illegal Gambling In South African

Luckily, there are certified sites like Yebo Casino where you can freely and legally gamble without restrictions or risks. Not only will you find a comprehensive platform of exciting games to play 24/7, but you can also take comfort in knowing that your enjoyment, safety and welfare is the casino’s top priority.

The question of whether playing online casino games (poker, roulette, black jack, etc.) is legal in South Africa is one we often get asked, so we decided to give you the lowdown and clear the air, in our is online gambling illegal in South Africa article.

Is online gambling illegal in South Africa?

Well, the short answer is Yes and No! The National Gambling Board (NGB) is responsible for overseeing and regulating land-based gaming venues in South Africa. The legislation outlines the forms of permitted gambling, which includes land-based casinos, gaming machines in licensed premises and sports betting (phew…). All lotteries are governed separately by the Lotteries Act of 1997. So what this means is that the legislation does not permit online casino gambling in South Africa, but does allow other types of gambling related activities.

Anyway enough about that, let’s dive into the actual law.

In 2004, the NGB passed the National Gambling Act which banned online casino gambling within our borders. Online casino gambling via offshore servers was thereafter also prohibited in South Africa. At this point, many of the foreign online casinos stopped allowing South African customers from playing with them. Other online casinos have remained open to South Africans and continue to offer safe and reliable gaming to this incredibly lucrative market. The only case we know of where foreign online casino operators have been prosecuted for accepting business from South Africans, was in 2011, when the Supreme Court ruled against Piggs Peak Casino based in Swaziland.

Illegal Gambling In South Africa

So, the truth is that although online casino gambling remains illegal within South Africa, there are many operators outside of its borders which allow South Africans to play casino games online. Not only do these operators from foreign countries welcome South African players but many of them offer bonuses, rewards and special promotions in Rands. Some of these casinos even claim to be exclusive to South Africa and only accept ZAR. However, they are registered in countries such as Malta, Guernsey, Gibraltar, etc. where obtaining licenses is cheap and easy, and tax is minimal.

What Are Illegal Gambling

Some piece of mind for online casino gamblers is that South African players have little to be concerned about getting in hot water. The South African online gambling laws target the online casinos themselves and not individual players. The huge amount of tax revenue the government loses out on to these operators is their major headache – not putting gamblers behind bars. We’re not condoning punters going offshore and gambling in illegal activities here, just stating the current state of affairs.

The laws are changing

Report Illegal Gambling In South Africa

Since 2020 we’ve seen a number of casino style games being offered by South African bookmakers. These games have indeed been licensed and approved by their respective boards, in the province in which the license is held.

Punters can now legally enjoy playing certain approved games on sites like Sportingbet and Betway. If you’d like to check if the site you are playing on is licensed to offer casino games, then check if they are licensed in a province in South Africa in their info section. This will hopefully bring in sweeping changes to the online sports betting and casino industry, with more revenue being spent locally, rather than with illegal offshore casinos.

National Gambing Board Laws

The NGB dictates that the responsibility rests with the gaming operators as well as the banks that process payments, to play by the rules – and not with you. It’s not entirely impossible, however, that your winnings are confiscated en route to their bank accounts and deposited in the Unlawful Winnings Trust, administered by the NGB. This is highly unlikely, but unfortunately there’s no possible recourse if it does happen to you. When we say confiscated we mean bye bye money, we’ve experienced it ourselves and it usually starts with a call from the bank informing you that the funds are being confiscated and why.

Land-based and online sports betting through a licensed bookmaker is legal and always has been. In actual fact, it’s the only above board option if you want to use an online platform to place any kind of wager. The legality of online sports betting supposedly rests on the fact that the internet serves only as the medium for betting; the actual outcome is decided in the real – not the virtual – world.

A 2011 Gambling Review Commission pushed for new online gambling regulations that could help open up the online casino market in South Africa. It suggested that if government were to draw up new legislation and enforce online gambling regulation controls, not only would it gain a firm hold of the market, but also generate a significant amount of revenue. Hopefully this comes to fruition soon and spurs development of a thriving and fiercely competitive online gaming market in South Africa.

So to summarise the question, is online gambling illegal in South Africa? Yes, certain online Casino Gambling is illegal BUT online Sports Betting is not illegal! It boils down to what each province is willing to license.

We don’t know yet how the government might licence, tax and oversee online casinos, but the new industry has the potential to generate Billions of Rands which could be used for the benefit of our country. We hope this article helped answer the age old question of Is online gambling illegal in South Africa?