Silversands Facing Problems
The South African online caisno gambling legislation is in the final stages of
approval and the international market is preparing to legally enter this market
for the first time ever. The speculation is rampant about just when the new
legislation will pass through, but in the mean time, the online casinos that
have been illegally operating in the market are in for some tough times ahead.
Silversands is the most popular illegal internet gambling site in the currently
unregulated South African market. The company advertises extensively on national
television throughout South Africa and has benefited from the lack of
competition. Once the new gambling regulations are passed though, the National
Gambling Board has publicly stated that internet casinos that have illegally
operated in the market will not be issued a SA gambling license.
For Silversands, this means that the online casino poker gambling site will lose
all of it competitive edge and will be effectively forced out of the SA market –
the company’s main focus and primary source of revenue. In addition to having
competition from the legal online casinos, Silversands Poker will no longer have
the ability to advertise in the country in any standard mediums. Legal gambling
companies on the other hand will have full access to the advertising industry,
naturally subject to strict regulations however.
Silversands has been allowed to advertise and operate in the South African
market because the online casino poker site positioned itself as an educational
opportunity for the nation rather than a gambling site. Silversands argued that
the advertisements primarily emphasized how to play poker rather than poker
gambling. There are currently no SA regulations in place to prevent this type of
abuse of the system – the new regulations however will have specific language
aimed at addressing this type of semi-gambling. |