All activities related to the conduct of gambling activities in South Africa are regulated by the Ministry of Finance, which, as the only regulatory body, may issue a monopoly on the conduct of gambling and everything related to it. At the moment, this monopoly is owned only by The Limited Liability Company Totalizator Sportowy. Of course, this company would never have been able to run a gambling business if it did not have a license. Players from all over the world appreciate this fact when their favorite online casino is licensed, this is because such brands offer a safe and comfortable game, and the casino itself gains more trust from users. This option gives both casinos and players the opportunity to legally conduct and develop gambling activities.
More about gambling licenses will tell our author and editor-in-chief of the portal Milan Rabszski, who will focus his attention on such aspects:
- why having a license is an important factor for safer online casino play;
- what are the most popular licenses for online casinos;
- conditions for obtaining a gambling license;
- "how gambling is regulated in South Africa".
Why you need an online casino license
On the internet, the term “licensed casino” appears more and more often, which until now no one has been able to fully explain. In fact, a lot of opinions have been formed regarding the definition of such a casino, so we want to list each of them. First of all, it is worth considering the main characteristic of a licensed virtual casino: a casino that has a license. So, it means that a licensed casino cannot exist without a license issued by the major gambling authorities and organizations around the world. A licensed casino is a type of online casino that, even at the time of its inception, made sure to offer users from all over the world, first of all, security and honesty on its part. A licensed casino is constantly checked by independent authorities and tries to do everything to get such a license. A licensed casino has to prove to the whole world from the very beginning that it deserves to receive such a license.
So the logical question arises: What is an online casino license?
Gambling license-a legal act that allows you to conduct business online in the iGaming industry, regulates the activities of bookmakers, lotteries and virtual casinos. A license for the organization of gambling and other options of this type can be issued only by the Regulatory Authority, which in turn can issue such a license only if the gambling institution meets all the criteria and adheres to all the rules that are contained in the regulations in order to obtain the rights to conduct gambling.
As we can see, having a license is not an option for all institutions that intend to provide their gambling services to players from different European countries and not only.So, it is worth mentioning the main advantages of this option. First of all, the license is a guarantee of security, because brands that have this legal document care about the trust of both players and regulators. So, in any case, such a casino will not decide on such a thing as cheating. Although there were also situations when the licensed brand pursued an Unfair Play policy, which became the reason for the withdrawal of the license.
The most popular licenses in online casinos
| License | Characteristics of the licence | Legal acts | Licensed gambling brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| License from the South African Ministry of Finance | This license is a local license covering gambling activities throughout South Africa. Such a license shall be based on a single legal act. "The license primarily supports domestic gambling brands". | Gambling Act of 19 November 2009. | Total Casino |
| Licensed by the Curacao Gaming Commission | This is the most popular license among online casinos, which stands out for its availability and covers all major issues related to the regulation of gambling activities. The Curacao Gaming Commission is considered one of the most stable jurisdictions. The commission issues several varieties of licenses: Cyber Curacao N. V. 1668/ JAZ, Antillephone NV 8048/ JAZ, Curacao Interactive Licensing N. V. 5536 / JAZ and Gaming Services Provider N. V. 365 / JAZ. As for taxation, the tax rate is 2% of income. | State ordinance Casino industry Curacao and State Decree Casino industry Curacao. | Wild Tornado Casino, 20bet Casino, Casinonic Casino, Tsars Casino, Casombie Casino, 7Bit Casino, cosmonaut Casino, alf Casino, Casinia Casino, MrSloty Casino, Cadoola Casino, VulkanBet Casino, SlottoJaM Casino, Betrocker Casino, Cosmic Slot Casino, Koi Casino, Wild Tokyo Casino, ego Casino, Wild Tornado Casino, vavada Casino, explosino Casino, Playamo Casino, Spinamba Casino, all right Casino, Slotty way casino, Supercat Casino, Lucky Bird Casino, Boomerang Casino, Malina casino, Zet Casino, Nomini casino and others. |
| Licensed by the UK Gambling Commission | The commission issues permits for gambling activities, licenses persons working in the gambling industry, in certain positions, determines the conditions for granting permits and codes of conduct (LCCP), provides advice and guidance to gamblers and citizens, and is the leading authority in the field of Statistics and research related to gambling. The commission is also the regulator of the National Lottery. | Gambling act of 2005 and 2007 | William Hill Casino, Coral Casino, Jonny Jackpot Casino, Hyper Casino, electric Spins Casino, Captain Spins Casino, Dove Bingo Casino, Hunky Bingo Casino and more. |
| Licensed by the Danish Gambling authority (DGa) | It is a license from the main organization that oversees the gambling industry in Denmark. DGa issues 5 licenses, which rely on limited validity periods of these licenses. For example, there are permits for 1 year, for 5 years and more. The Operator who applies for such a license must pay an amount of DKK 285800 (EUR 38.000 401000). Online casinos licensed by the DGa can offer roulette, baccarat, punto banco, blackjack, poker and Real Money slot games. | ICLG (gambling Laws and Regulations) and Danish Gambling act | Casumo Casino, DrueclGleck Casino, PlayoJo Casino and others. |
| Licensed by the Italian Gambling Authority (ADM) | ADM exercises state supervision in the gambling sector, guaranteeing the interests of the state treasury by collecting taxes and managing disputes, protecting citizens by preventing illegal activities, and managing the market for concessions and regulatory acts. ADM is responsible for: regulating gaming and enforcing relevant regulatory laws, issuing permits and supervising the proper execution and compliance of permit holders, as well as monitoring the offer of gambling services and collecting taxes on gaming. | Finance Act from 2007 roku and decree "Comunitaria" from 2011 roku. | Bambet Casino, Brango Casino, ZenBet Casino etc. |
| License from Cyprus Gaming Commission | The Cyprus gaming and Casino Supervisory Commission, known as the Cyprus Gaming Commission (Commission), was established in 2015, under the Cyprus Casino Control Act and related regulations. Cyprus ' Casino Control Act of 2015 provided for the licensing of one operator to develop an integrated casino resort and four smaller "satellite" casinos. This license was granted to Melco Resorts. | Cyprus Casino Control Law and Betting Law since 2012 roku, Cyprus Casino Control Law since 2015 roku. | Casino-resort in Europe and Japan from Melco Resorts. |
| License of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) | PaGCoR aims to ensure a level playing field, maintain an orderly regulatory environment, promote fairness and integrity in the conduct of gambling, provide a basic platform for Responsible Gambling and prevent minors from accessing gambling centres. | The Gaming Employment License (GEL) | Betandyou Casino, Casoo Casino, Surf Casino and others. |
| Licensed by the Malta Gaming authority (MGa) | It was formerly known as the LGA - Lotteries and Gaming authority. It is also one of the most widely used gambling licenses as it offers several classes of licenses. There are 4 classes available. Class 4 licensees are gambling software manufacturers. A third-class license is granted to bookmakers and a second-class license to matchbook operators. The first-class license can be taken away by the operator of all casino games (slots and card games). | Gaming act – 2018-Chapter 583 of the Laws of Malta | Slot Wolf Casino, avalon 78 Casino, Rizk Casino, Bob Casino, Cadabrus Casino, Betinia Casino, Wild Fortune Casino, Slotty Vegas Casino, Euslot Casino, yoyoCasino, Genesis Casino, Nitro Casino, NeonVegas Casino, Cookie Casino, Maneki Casino, Betamo Casino, Loki Casino, Samosa Casino, King Billy Casino, N1 Casino, Unibet Casino, CasinoEuro and others. |
| Costa Rica Gambling Licensing Authority (Costa Rica) | In Costa Rica, online gambling is illegal for residents. In addition, it is illegal for residents to gamble at all on games that have any random outcome. However, under Costa Rican law, the physical location of an online gambling operator's server is not where gambling actually takes place.Due to the lack of specific online gambling regulations in Costa Rica, it is relatively easy for an operator to start a business in this jurisdiction. A data processing license is required, the requirements of which include having a physical office located in Costa Rica. In the region there are authorized consultants who offer assistance in obtaining such a license. Due to the large number of gambling sites based in Costa Rica, an online gaming license was introduced. | the National Registry of Costa Rica | - |
| Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (GBGA) | Gibraltar's Licensing Authority began offering licenses to gambling operators in the early 1990s, when gambling activities became popular.The license allows operators to obtain and maintain a merchant account, offers operators low-tax gambling, gives operators a chance to operate in the European market, offers operators confidentiality of financial transactions. The Gibraltar license has a high reputation because it is issued on the territory of the EU. | Gambling act of 2005 | William Hill Casino, Coral Casino, 888casino, Betfair Casino |
| License from the Swedish Gambling Authority | There are six different types of licenses from the Swedish government. They mainly concern sports betting, commercial online games, land-based games, gambling games reserved for the state and games reserved for public purposes. | Swedish Gambling act | Bet365 Casino |
Conditions for obtaining an online casino license
Not every online casino has a license, so it is worth understanding why this is the case and what are the main grounds for obtaining a gambling permit. Players do not always pay their attention to whether a gambling brand has a license or not, moreover, they do not even think about what efforts the casino operator who applies for a license makes. All such conditions relate primarily to the legitimate conduct of gambling activities by each gambling brand applying for a license. Also, such a brand should present good financial documentation and conduct regular audits. Moreover, each such brand should make a detailed review of the functions of online gambling, along with a description of the functioning of the technical side during the duration of gambling.
The conditions for obtaining licenses from regulators may vary, but one way or another there are some rules that apply to all licensed online casinos.
- the gambling brand of the virtual casino should put on its website The logo of the current license;
- the virtual casino should have a Random Number Generator certificate. Having such a certificate shows that the winning results are in no way calculated by the online casino;
- online casinos should develop a Responsible Gaming Policy. Such an option is needed to prevent players who have symptoms of gambling addiction;
- the website of an online casino should contain information about the availability of gambling only for adult players, i.e. 18+.
How is gambling regulated in South Africa?
South Africa refers to those countries that regulate the online gambling industry by conducting a monopolistic policy in their gambling area. Currently, there is the only South African online casino that has a license from the South African Ministry of Finance - Total Casino. The operator of this casino is Totalizator Sportowy, a limited liability company whose main business is number games, lotteries and wagering. This company is the owner of
There are also other gambling brands in South Africa that are also preferred by South African players, but they anyway carry out illegal gambling activities because they do not have a license from the South African government. Apart from this fact, they are also licensed by other foreign authorities, which we mentioned above. "Every gambling brand strives to make the casino game safe for players from South Africa". We must admit that such casinos do not comply with the rules of the only main statute on gambling in South Africa.
License in South African online casinos
As mentioned above, South African players do not have much choice - in front of them is only Total Casino, which is considered the safest South African gambling brand for the very reason that it has the main South African license. The main feature of this casino is that only players from South Africa and no one else are accepted. Playing in the demo version is of course possible, but when a foreign player wants to place a real money bet in this casino, he certainly can not do it. Registering for this casino is the most difficult option and so it is not by chance. As usual, the player enters all his personal data, including the PeSeL number and ID card. It is with the help of such data that the player is verified by casino employees. The player who chooses Online Total Casino realizes that this game is one hundred percent legal and there is no tax on the winnings. The tax applies more to those who want to obtain a license from the South African government. That's what we're going to talk about next.
A license from the South African Ministry of Finance operates under the Gambling Act, so an entity wishing to apply for such a license must first familiarize itself with the legal act. In order to enliven an application for such a license, a representative should collect and send such information:
- the number in the relevant register (National Court register or the relevant commercial register of the state of residence), information on the legal and financial status, personal data and the types and number of games, as well as information on how they will be launched;
- you also need to provide documents that confirm the legality of the sources of capital, the conduct of activities in the field of slot machines, dice and card games, the status of the entity, the legal title to the premises, the opinion of the Municipal Council, the determination of the investment and expected profitability, the draft rules of the game, Financial Statements, A certificate of non-compliance in taxes and payment of contributions ZUS and others.
As we can see, the list of required documents for obtaining this license is so huge that only trusted bodies can receive it, such is the Totalizator Sports. An Operator who intends to conduct legal gambling activities in South Africa should not only have South African citizenship or EU or EFTA state citizenship, but also have a share capital of at least 4,000,000 South African oty.
When it comes to taxation, tax rates vary in relation to what kind of game it is. The tax rate on online slot games or card games is 50%, and the rate on reciprocal bets on sporting events is 12%.
