The legality of online gambling has been the subject of discussion in South Africa for many years. It has also been equally a subject of contention in the legal circles, with some parties advocating for the softening of the laws, whilst some remain adamant they should remain the same. Whilst gambling in all forms was liberated in 1996, there were amendments in 2004 that changed the landscape of online casino gambling. We seek to answer common questions from the punter’s perspective on the legality of online gambling in South Africa.

Legal Gambling South Africa

Is Online Betting Legal In South Africa

The National Gambling Board (NRB) is responsible for overseeing and regulating all the gambling activities in South Africa. The National Gambling Act 7 of 2004 prevents the use of online casino gambling in South Africa, and this has been in effect ever since despite failed attempts to amend the legislation in 2008 to legalise online gambling activities. A further ruling by the Northern Gauteng High court deemed online casino gambling illegal in 2010 for both local and offshore casino providers. But what does it mean to online sports betting, lotteries, horse racing, games and casino?

Is online gambling legal in South Africa?

The simple answer is yes, Sports Betting and certain casino style games have been licensed by their respective boards and are legal. If you’d like to know if the betting site you are using is legal in South Africa then have a look at where they are licensed. If they are licensed by one of the provinces in South Africa then it’s fully legal to bet or gamble on that site.

The question of whether playing online casino games (poker, roulette, black jack, etc.) is legal in South Africa is one we often get asked, so we decided to give you the lowdown and clear the air, in our is online gambling illegal in South Africa article. The Future of Gambling in South Africa. Despite more and more people turning to illegal forms of gambling, the 2017 report indicates a steadily declining occurrence of problem gambling in South Africa. Critics of the current system argue that the country and its people would be far better off if the NGB decided to legalize online gambling. Legal Casino Regulations in South Africa. The National Gambling Act of 2004 banned online gambling in South Africa. This was cemented with updated laws in September 2011 that clarified online gambling is illegal within South Africa. However, the changes in legislation saw land-based legal casinos and a national lottery in the country.

Online Sports Betting and Horse Racing

Under South Africa’s gambling laws, casino sites, individual users, internet service providers and banks that process payments to gambling sites can be subject to prosecutions of up to R 10 million, 10 years imprisonment, or both. Any media channels advertising online gambling are also held accountable. Since 2010, the act of online casino gambling has been strictly prohibited in South Africa. Prior to this time, it did seem like the country was gearing towards making it a legal operation, with discussions for regulation and legalisation taking place.

Sports betting and horse racing fans can surely smile on this one. The good news is online sports betting and horse racing is indeed allowed and very legal in South Africa. This service is provided by most popular bookies such as Hollywoodbets, Sportingbet, Betway and many others. These sports bookies are registered with the NRB, and one needs to check the legal status of the bookie as this provides a basis for the protection of the player.

Online Lotteries and games

This is another segment that is allowed by the Lotteries Act of 1997 in South Africa and is pretty popular with a lot of punters. These include the various types of local lotteries such as those provided by The National Lottery. Again, the player needs to check the registration status of the Lottery and Game provider for their protection. Playing on international lotteries is considered illegal in South Africa. However, some providers go about this by providing fixed odds betting based on the results of international lotteries as in the case of Lottostar. So indeed, one can realize profits from international lotteries through these methods.

Online Casino Legal In California

Online Casinos

Best Online Casino South Africa

The current gambling laws, although under contention, do not allow for online casino gambling in South Africa, both from local and international bookies. There is a potential for huge fines on bookies if found guilty of illegally providing such services. However, despite this, some international online casinos provide access to users based in South Africa with currencies being denominated in ZAR in some cases. Some bookmakers also provide the option of placing bets on games that are based on casinos which then become legal. The current legal games are live roulette and Betgames. Which covers different games like Dice, Poker and more. Read more about legal online casino games in South Africa.

Conclusion

South African Online Casinos

The existing gambling laws in South Africa allow for online sports betting, horse racing, lotteries and games. However, most online casino games are deemed illegal, and for fans of casinos it would be best to visit the traditional brick and wall casino. Despite such regulations, there are some international casinos which offer online casino gambling in South Africa. One will hope such laws will be revised in the near future. If you’d like to view all the different legal betting sites in South Africa then we recommend having a browse through this list of betting sites in South Africa. All the bookmakers mentioned on the list are legal and licensed to operate.

If you’d like to know more about Sports Betting or need help with your betting account then head over to the Betting Guide homepage. We hope you found our is online gambling legal in South Africa article useful, if you have any questions leave them in the comments below.

Are Online Casinos Legal In South Africa