Online Casino Transfer: News - South Africa Update

04/08/2010		Online Casino Style: News South Africa Update
Home History Games News Dictionary		Another set of hearings has brought the arguments surrounding the legalization issues for online gambling to the front of the internet casino world’s news venues this week. For all intents and purposes, still no significant progress has been made in the arena, as even more discussions and debate continue to clog up the means for online gambling to gain some sort of support in the market; this week’s public hearings took place before the Gambling Review Commission in Durban, South Africa, giving a semblance of progressive air. Legalization is still the hope for South Africa, though the government continues to allow the process to get tangled in bureaucratic red tape, paperwork and study after research study. Political debate and the never-ending hearings have all been seen as a pretense for the concern of the general gambling public, but have done little more than to give the opposition additional fodder to request more and more research. Meanwhile, the online gambling industry continues to thrive, with South Africans making major contributions as both software developers and operators. The benefits to legalizing internet gambling in South Africa – meaning, the potential profits – are clear to all parties. The hearings this week offered more of the same: the Commission was informed of the readiness of the South African online gambling market for legalization, with the statistics associated with offshore profits being made by poker rooms and casinos playing a major part. Concerns, including money laundering fears and underage gambling worries, were thrown about by the opposition. "We have casinos operating from offshore in the country and if we scratch the surface, we will find illegal interactive casinos," said Wayne Luries, an attorney who acted as a special expert for a 2004 report on internet gambling as commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry. "The industry cries out for regulation. Unlike land-based environments, every transaction can be monitored and the exact tax can be monitored. It's the easiest environment to regulate. [There is]… no strong ban of interactive gambling... that will stand up in court. This needs to be addressed urgently. It's embarrassing to the legislature."

04/08/2010

Online Casino Style: News
South Africa Update

Another set of hearings has brought the arguments surrounding the legalization issues for online gambling to the front of the internet casino world’s news venues this week. For all intents and purposes, still no significant progress has been made in the arena, as even more discussions and debate continue to clog up the means for online gambling to gain some sort of support in the market; this week’s public hearings took place before the Gambling Review Commission in Durban, South Africa, giving a semblance of progressive air.

Legalization is still the hope for South Africa, though the government continues to allow the process to get tangled in bureaucratic red tape, paperwork and study after research study. Political debate and the never-ending hearings have all been seen as a pretense for the concern of the general gambling public, but have done little more than to give the opposition additional fodder to request more and more research. Meanwhile, the online gambling industry continues to thrive, with South Africans making major contributions as both software developers and operators. The benefits to legalizing internet gambling in South Africa – meaning, the potential profits – are clear to all parties.

The hearings this week offered more of the same: the Commission was informed of the readiness of the South African online gambling market for legalization, with the statistics associated with offshore profits being made by poker rooms and casinos playing a major part. Concerns, including money laundering fears and underage gambling worries, were thrown about by the opposition.

"We have casinos operating from offshore in the country and if we scratch the surface, we will find illegal interactive casinos," said Wayne Luries, an attorney who acted as a special expert for a 2004 report on internet gambling as commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry. "The industry cries out for regulation. Unlike land-based environments, every transaction can be monitored and the exact tax can be monitored. It's the easiest environment to regulate. [There is]… no strong ban of interactive gambling... that will stand up in court. This needs to be addressed urgently. It's embarrassing to the legislature."