Online Casino Style: News - Gauteng Says SA Gambling Illegal

09/11/2010		Online Casino Style - News: Gauteng Says SA Gambling Illegal
Home History Games News Dictionary		This week, apparently, online gambling is illegal in South Africa. The issue continues to plague lawmakers, as they continually avoid the need to make a final decision on the matter, and continues to infuritate the internet gambling industry, which seems to be having a hard time keeping up with the current conditions. They’re not the only ones struggling to know what is deemed ‘legal’ versus ‘illegal,’ as advertising and marketing firms got a stern warning this week from the South African government, reminding them that at least for now, online casino access is illegal in the country. The official warning came courtesy of the provincial Gauteng Gambling Board, an announcement that some are considering just the latest set-back in the never-ending battle to find a legalization resolution to the question of regulation in the southern most nation of Africa. The debate has gone on for years, with the government continually procrastinating on establishing either a means to enforce the prohibitionary laws, or developing a system for regulation, should legalization be the final call. In the meantime, sites both legitimate and dangerous continue to serve the residents, and the confusion on the legal front persists. The most recent “decision” came out of the Gauteng province, where a North High Court judgement found that online gambling was definiately illegal in South Africa, a decision signed off on by the Judge NB Tuchten. The ruling meant that effective immediately, internet gambling operators to continue to serve their customers in South Africa could be held liable to punishment – though what kind has yet to be decided, giving the internet casinos really no reason to pull out. South African law also holds the gambler responsible, and not just the virtual venue. According to a report by the Business Times, internet service providers could also be held responsible for activity on banned websites, and not unlike the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 here in the US, financial institutions could be to blame as well.

09/11/2010

Online Casino Style - News:
Gauteng Says SA Gambling Illegal

This week, apparently, online gambling is illegal in South Africa. The issue continues to plague lawmakers, as they continually avoid the need to make a final decision on the matter, and continues to infuritate the internet gambling industry, which seems to be having a hard time keeping up with the current conditions. They’re not the only ones struggling to know what is deemed ‘legal’ versus ‘illegal,’ as advertising and marketing firms got a stern warning this week from the South African government, reminding them that at least for now, online casino access is illegal in the country.

The official warning came courtesy of the provincial Gauteng Gambling Board, an announcement that some are considering just the latest set-back in the never-ending battle to find a legalization resolution to the question of regulation in the southern most nation of Africa. The debate has gone on for years, with the government continually procrastinating on establishing either a means to enforce the prohibitionary laws, or developing a system for regulation, should legalization be the final call. In the meantime, sites both legitimate and dangerous continue to serve the residents, and the confusion on the legal front persists.

The most recent “decision” came out of the Gauteng province, where a North High Court judgement found that online gambling was definiately illegal in South Africa, a decision signed off on by the Judge NB Tuchten. The ruling meant that effective immediately, internet gambling operators to continue to serve their customers in South Africa could be held liable to punishment – though what kind has yet to be decided, giving the internet casinos really no reason to pull out. South African law also holds the gambler responsible, and not just the virtual venue.

According to a report by the Business Times, internet service providers could also be held responsible for activity on banned websites, and not unlike the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 here in the US, financial institutions could be to blame as well.