South African Online Casinos

Online gambling is not regulated in South Africa, being something of a gray area. However, in July of 2008, the then president of South Africa approved the National Gambling Amendment Bill, which was aimed at regulating the industry and protecting both gamblers and online gambling firms. But until now, the Bill has not been signed into law.

Gambling In South Africa

Gambling is very popular in South Africa, with some stats reflecting that over 80 percent of South African adults gamble regularly in one form or another. But this was not always the case, because between the late 17th century and the 1970s, gambling was strictly prohibited in South Africa, except for horse racing.

However, in the late 1970s, the government allowed some land casinos to be built in what were known as 'Homelands', or territories demarcated for black South Africans during the time of Apartheid. The world famous Sun City is one such casino.

When Nelson Mandela was finally released from prison in 1994, and South Africa did away with Apartheid for good, the government legalised gambling across the board, which is why today the country boasts around 40 land casinos as well as countless sports betting facilities, bingo halls, poker facilities and two national lotteries.

Online Gambling In South Africa

Although online gambling is not regulated in South Africa, a few South African online casinos have emerged in recent years as online gambling was considered a gray area. In 2008, the National Gambling Amendment Bill was sent to the then president to be signed into law, which was aimed at regulating the industry and making it taxable by the government.

However, until now the Bill has still not been signed into law and the government has since started to crack down on online gambling. As such, most South African online casinos have closed for business, although many South African gamblers continue to play at offshore sites, many of which accept ZAR as a currency. South African online gamblers use deposit methods such as credit cards, Neteller and Moneybookers to fund their online casino accounts.

The hope is that once the government regulates online gambling, the industry will grow in leaps and bounds and generate millions of rands in much-needed taxes.