This week’s judgement in the Pretoria High Court may have been hailed as ‘groundbreaking’ by the Gauteng Gambling Board but will not go far in clarifying online gambling law in South Africa. The ruling is limited to Gauteng Province and does not say that Internet gambling is illegal throughout the country, only that it is illegal in Gauteng unless licensed by the Gambling Board. All nine South African provinces have their own gambling Acts but only the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces have explicit online gambling laws.

Following the judgement from the High Court, the Gauteng Gambling Board said that banks, internet providers and gamblers would be liable to prosecution if they facilitated online gambling or advertised with penalties of up to R10 million and/or 10 years’ imprisonment. However, their ability to actually prosecute is arguable as at present there is no law that requires ISPs to block online gambling services. The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act states that ISPs are under no obligation to monitor data it transmits or actively look for illegal activity.

The National Gambling Act does require that no person advertise or promote gambling that is unlawful under the Act or applicable provincial law. An application by Casino Enterprises Swaziland, which runs Piggs Peak Casino in that country, asking the court to declare its actions in Gauteng legitimate, was decreed by the High Court to have no cause for action. The casino maintained that as its online operation was run from Swaziland, beyond South African jurisdiction, it did not contravene the Gauteng Gambling Act.
(E-12.01.06)

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