It has been accused over going over the top but Mpumalanga is the only gambling board in South Africa to ban gaming-related novelty games. Toy and gift shop owners have been told to remove bingo sets, mini roulettes and poker games from sale but will be allowed to sell packs of playing cards, dice and even sets of gaming chips. The distinction comes in the provision of rules – if the items are packaged as a set with rules, the Mpumalanga Gambling Board considers them a gambling device.

One retailer has protested that he is losing trade from Mozambique as many customers from there buy the games for amusement in a country offering little alternative entertainment. Mpumalanga authorities are unrepentant, saying gambling devices need a licence to be stocked or sold. However, a Board spokesman did say that shop owners would not be prosecuted but be educated to learn that such products required a licence or must be removed from sale.

Mpumalanga was the first one of the South African provinces to license limited payout machines in bars, clubs and other venues. The result of the legislation was an immediate increase in gambling revenue, a 24% increase over the first financial year. Since then other provinces have introduced the same legislation, despite reports from countries such as New Zealand and Australia suggesting that gambling on these machines led to a rapid increase in problem gambling. In the light of this, the banning of poker sets and similar games would seem an over-reaction to the dangers of gambling. (E-01.23.07)

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