The Wait is On
Online casino gambling in South Africa is basically a forgone conclusion for
many in the internet gambling industry – after all the South African parliament
has repeatedly debated the issue and finally passed through bill that would
license and regulate the South African gambling community. The bill has been
accepted by the majority of the major politicians in South Africa and many of
the online casinos in Europe and other jurisdictions are eagerly eyeing the
potential within this market. But for the time being the South African
President, Thabo Mbeki, has yet to either address the online casino or sign the
new internet gambling bill.
Mbeki has the power to veto the bill that has passed through parliament – but so
far the media and online casino gambling industry analysts insistent that that
is not the reason for Mbeki’s delay. Instead many are willing to give the
benefit of the doubt and assume that Mbeki has merely not gotten around to it…a
possibility. The prospect of legal online casino gambling in South Africa is
actually a major deal and would offer a huge change from the current
restrictions for citizens and threats issued from the South African government
toward online casinos illegally offering internet gambling activities to South
African gamblers.
The bill is actually pretty solid – as it should be after all of the delays and
negotiations that went into fine-tuning the bill and all of its provisions. Some
of the main concerns for the parliament was the affect that online casino
gambling would have underage and problem gamblers. To combat those issues, the
bill includes strong regulations concerning the level of protective software
that a licensed online casino must have in place before legally entering the
South African gambling market. |