Gambling Act

Milan Rabszski is interested only in real and official information – that is why for readers he will try to explain several aspects related to the new gambling law, and these are among others:

1. features of the Gambling Act,
2. legal casino games,
3. who and what taxes pay,
4. what are the penalties for,
5. betting under the Gambling Act.

What is the Gambling Act for South Africa

For many years, gambling in South Africa was not sufficiently well controlled, which was quite dangerous for players, because potentially dangerous companies had access to the market. Players could register at any online casino, which ended up being different. The first Gambling Act dates back to 1992, but even regular amendments have not helped to control gambling in South Africa. Only in 2009, the Supreme Court decided to prepare a completely new law. Since then, namely since 2017, when the Gambling Act was amended, gambling in South Africa is under control.

Characteristics of the South African gambling industry according to the Gambling Act

• H azard online is completely covered by the state monopoly.
• N and this moment only Total Casino is a legal online casino.
• D gambling activity can only be conducted by companies with a license.
• T otalizator Sportowy is the only company with a license.

Amendment To The Gambling Act

Below is how the Gambling Act has changed with each amendment:

• In 2009, the Gambling Act was amended for the first time. The changes were related to the gambling scandal, in which, among other things, poker was considered a random game. No possibility of advertising bookmakers, paying large compensation for closed salons with games.
• 2016-the bill finally talks about casinos and online games, which become a monopoly of the state and is presented to the European Union. The document is being prepared by PiS (law and Justice), and the Gowin Gambling Act is waiting for notification.
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• 2017-on April 1, 2017, the law is officially amended. A Register of banned domains is created, players have to pay an additional tax on winnings, and poker for money can be organized only after reporting this matter to the Ministry.
• 2018-casino authorities are given more freedom regarding control powers, so that the government can better control legal online casinos.
• 2020-the government thoroughly controls gambling, more and more sites are blocked. To do this, there were plans to remove games from gaming salons.
• 2021-the law adds a paragraph about gaming salons, in which only slots of brands designated by the government can be located. The rest must be closed.
• 2022-gambling revenues are finally High. The Register of banned domains is growing with sites that advertise gambling. Gaming salons can not conduct business if in the last 5 years the owner has been punished.

Gambling law in the context of regulating gambling in the world

Below we present the 3 most popular licenses that are issued in Europe and we want to compare them with the license in South Africa and give them a short rating.

Opportunities for the South African industry under the Gambling Act

The South African gambling law is currently one of the strictest in Europe. The government is trying to show that gambling should be officially banned, but it is only allowed if the state benefits from it. Currently, there is no private online casino in South Africa – there is only Total Casino, which is controlled by Totalizator Sportowy, which is granted a monopoly on behalf of the state.

All games of chance, i.e. roulette, slot machines and Blackjack and others can only be shared by Totalizator Sportowy. Particularly strict rules accompany the Game Of Poker. The game can be played even at home, but for this, for any event in which money is involved, you need to inform the tax administration chamber about it.

Law and bookmakers

In the case of bookmakers, South Africa does not have a monopoly, so players can currently use several bookmakers belonging to different owners. Each of them must apply for an official license from the Ministry of Finance – entities often wait several months for approval of their candidacy. Owners of bookmakers must separately request permission to conduct business both on-site and online.

The odds of such sites are not too high, compared to illegal bookmakers, because the government imposes quite a lot of taxes on such establishments. Below is a table with the most influential parties and their shares.

How are land-based gambling establishments treated under the Act?

"In South Africa, gaming salons and land-based casinos have slightly different rights". They will be briefly compared below, based on the Gambling Act.

Online Casino in South Africa in the context of the Gambling Act

As we mentioned earlier, the issue of online casinos in the Gambling Act is covered by the monopoly, so at the moment players can only use Total Casino, which is run by Totalizator Sportowy. Only online random games coming from this site are licensed and completely legal. Using other sites and online games for money is considered illegal and can result in a fine.

What is a grey area?

The government calls the gray area all illegal activities that are still committed by players and typists, and which are not properly regulated. Thanks to the Gambling Act, the gray area is slowly decreasing. Back in 2016, 100% of casino games were in the gray area, and today it is only 55%. In total, gambling activities occupy only about 18% today. Much of this is influenced by The Register of banned domains, which is a list of sites with online casinos, bookmakers, as well as gambling sites that are automatically blocked by the government.

The blocking of gambling sites is precisely described in the content of Article 89 of the online gaming and Casino act. That is why Betfair and the Gambling Act and other similar sites are a difficult topic for players, because officially such sites can not be used.

Promotion and advertising of gambling activities in South Africa

Public promotion of games and casinos is officially prohibited. Advertisements cannot appear on the covers of magazines, and on television they are allowed only from 22:00 to 6:00. Also, you can not show any signs related to gambling and bookmaking in cities. Public advertisements are only allowed during matches when they are sponsors. Instagram Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, although it is difficult to come to an agreement with large corporations.

Conditions for gambling under the Act

Each game has certain rules on the basis of which it can be played. Below are a few examples to make players aware of what they can expect:

• Random games, cash lotteries, number games – only selected providers-a specific number in the casino offline and online.
• Card games-the organizer should have a license and have the appropriate equipment to organize the game. The number of tables is determined, the games are only available from approved providers.
• Slot games-a certain number and suppliers. Winnings and bets are subject to tax.
• Poker-the organization of the game is possible in the casino or outside, if the organizer has a license. The number of players must be at least 10, and the event is previously reported to the local chamber.

Casino owners also need to know that they must purchase a separate license for each of these games.

Taxes under the Gambling Act

The owner of an online casino, as well as a bookmaker, by obtaining licenses and concessions, agrees to pay taxes. In South Africa, the gaming tax is most often calculated on the turnover of a given gambling activity or game, and not on profit, as is the case in many countries.

Revenues from the tax on Number Games and lotteries have increased significantly in recent years – in 2015 they amounted to $823 million, in 2020 they reached almost a billion. Tax revenue from land-based casinos soared in 2019 ($458 million) to fall in 2020 to $319 million. Since 2019, revenues from online casinos have become significant, reaching $80 million, and in 2020 they increased by 120% ($180 million).

Penalties for illegal betting

The use of illegal bookmakers in South Africa is currently punishable. If the typer commits such an offense, he can be punished with a refund of all winnings, as well as payment of 120 daily bets. Calculating that one bet is about $ 70 means that the player can pay up to $ 8,000 in penalties, which is not worth the trouble.

Even when hosting a poker contest for money at home, you need to notify your local county board to register for such an event.

• Rafał Wójcikowski One of the people who quite actively criticized the amendment to the Gambling Act was Rafał Wójcikowski. In his opinion, the law itself was signed too quickly, and his amendments that would have improved the situation of players and casino owners were rejected. He commented that in his opinion it was also a mistake to sign a contract with IGT, which was supposed to deliver specially ordered machines to gaming salons.

Summary

"The Gambling Act of 2019 made gambling in South Africa completely regulated under the South African government". While land-based casinos can operate quite freely, as long as they have licenses for individual games, online casino gambling is limited to only one online casino and a few government-approved manufacturers. Sports betting fans are in a slightly better position because they have a dozen sites to choose from and they are not under a state monopoly. The Gambling Act is yet to be amended, so we will try to keep you informed.