South Africa’s gambling regulations

Online gambling is where the most restrictions are placed on players

Gambling is in a bit of a weird spot for South Africa. Although it’s undoubtedly engrained in the culture of the South African people, the government doesn’t seem to have the same level of belief in what it offers. In fact, gambling was illegal in all forms except for horse racing until 1996. This put it significantly behind other countries in terms of what was available. However, things started to change in the early 2000s, when the digital revolution really became a force. 

Since then, many changes have been made and players are able to enjoy a range of different activities. 

What’s legal?

Currently, there are a few legal areas within South Africa. Players can bet at brick and mortar casinos, and in the national lottery, online sports betting, horse racing and bingo. It’s a relatively short list, which provides players with a limited choice. 

Sports betting is a relatively new addition, because as recently as 2016 players were unable to bet on sports online within South Africa. Horse racing was the exception, as that’s been legal for players since the 1970s. 

Brick and mortar casinos are one of the most prevalent forms of legal gambling within South Africa. There are more than 40 different brick and mortar casinos, which makes it one of the most popular ways to gamble. 

Players also have to be at least 18 in order to gamble in South Africa. If they’re under this age then all gambling is illegal.

What’s illegal?

It’s a relatively short list in terms of what’s legal in South Africa. Players are unable to bet at online casinos and they’re also unable to bet on the national lottery if the bet is taken by a bookmaker. So essentially, online gambling is where the most restrictions are placed on players. 

Of course, there are ways around playing at online casinos.

Playing at online casinos

Essentially, it’s a grey area for players at online casinos in South Africa. Although they’re not legal, players are still able to access them. The basic premise is that players are unlikely to be prosecuted for playing at an online casino. As long as the site isn’t located in South Africa, then it can’t be shut down. 

Some players use VPNs to access sites, but this isn’t generally required. As long as the site is located offshore, there are plenty of sites available purely to South African players.

So, players tend to play at offshore sites. It does mean that there are fewer regulations and laws in place, so players aren’t as well protected. However, there are a few things players can do in order to keep themselves safe. 

Check on licensing

It may seem strange to suggest this, but even though there’s no South African licensing, there are still other licences available. So, if an online casino has a licence from another jurisdiction, it means it’s likely to be a trustworthy site. As it has to behave in a certain manner in order to get a licence from the other geography, it will tend to offer the same protections to South African players. 

Curacao is the most common licence to be offered, but there are other choices that can sometimes appear. However, players should be aware that a licence isn’t a guarantee the site will be safe. There are other factors to take into account. 

Security

Site security is a vital factor. If the site isn’t safe, then it doesn’t matter how trustworthy the site operator is, your data isn’t going to be protected. As such, players must check to ensure the site is secure before signing up. The easiest way to do this is twofold. Firstly, players should check what payment methods are available. If the methods are trustworthy, then it means it’s likely high levels of security are in place to protect the player. PayPal is a good example, as it has excellent security for online payments. 

The second factor players should take into account is the SSL certification. If there’s a trusted SSL in place, it means player data is encrypted. As a result, both incoming and outgoing connections will only transmit encrypted data. This won’t be of any use to any hackers, so it means not only is player data fully protected but all payment information is also kept secure. 

Players should also look into whether there are any other aspects of the site that are insecure. For example, does it allow for 2fa when signing up? Anything that protects players to a higher level is a positive. 

Reputation 

If a site has a poor reputation, then it means it’s best to avoid it. However, if the site has an excellent reputation, then it’s likely to be worth playing at. Players should look into the reputation of a site before signing up. If it’s got a solid reputation with other players, it has most probably treated them in a fair manner. If it’s got a poor one, the opposite is true. 

While it’s never a guarantee the site will be a good one, when combined with other factors, it’s an excellent way to tell if a site is going to be worth signing up for. Forums, reviews, and just talking to other players are the best ways to find out what the reputation of a site is. If it has a licence you can also research whether the site has any complaints against it at the moment. 

Game providers

Lots of people overlook this when choosing an online casino. However, if trusted game providers are in place, then it’s likely that it is a trustworthy site. With so many different sites on the market, game providers are careful to only offer their services to sites that can be trusted. So, if the best providers are available, it’s instantly a good sign for players.

However, it’s also important to check to make sure the site uses legitimate versions of games. There are some sites out there that will happily use illegitimate versions of games. These games won’t have the correct mathematical models underpinning them. It means players won’t be protected when playing. By ensuring the site uses legitimate versions of games, players are protected.

There’s also the added benefit that some sites will use eCOGRA. This is an independent regulator that ensures the games are all running statistically as they promise. It ensures players are able to enjoy fair games when playing at an online casino. 

Will online gambling be legal in the future?

It’s difficult to know whether it will be made legal at some point in the future. There was an amendment made in 2008 which was expected to lead to online casino gambling being made legal in the future. However, that hasn’t been the case as of yet. It’s unknown if it will be made legal going forwards, but there are some reasons why there’s a chance that it could happen in the future. 

Firstly, gambling revenues within South Africa have steadily been rising over time. If online casino gambling is added to the list of available betting methods, then the overall tax revenue will increase. With many online casinos already operating outside of South Africa, the government could get an influx of funds by allowing online casinos to be used. Other countries like New Zealand also face the same issue. According to onlinecasinosrealmoney.co.nz the government is running years behind trying to regulate online gambling. It seems that they are planning to regulate online gambling with a new law to make it a safe and clean environment. We’ve seen the Netherlands doing that as well and Germany will follow soon. People will look for gambling online, even when it is not allowed. The best way to regulate this is by regulating the whole sector with a fair law.

As such, if tax revenue continues to fall in South Africa, it’s likely the government will reconsider whether to make online casinos legal or not. Also, with the wide popularity of online gambling, it’s likely that the government will take another look at the gambling act in the future, as more sites seem to be appearing every day.