Africa’s Gambling Laws — Where Is and Isn’t Legal to Gamble in Africa?
- Illegal Gambling In South Africa Pretoria
- What Are The Penalties For Illegal Gambling
- Online Gambling Illegal In South Africa
- Can You Go To Jail For Illegal Gambling
Different countries have different stances on gambling. In some countries, like the United Kingdom, gambling is a huge industry and a common pastime that helps the country’s economy. On the other end of the spectrum are countries that consider gambling to be a sin and harshly punish anyone who participates in it.
When it comes to Africa, you can see a little bit of both. After all, the African continent has 54 countries and in order to satisfy all these countries min deposit casino offers the best experience, however the African continent has its own views and laws in regards to gambling. In this article, we will look at a few African countries and compare their gambling laws in order for you to get a glimpse of the continent’s gambling landscape.
Gambling In South Africa │ 5 1. Introduction 1.1. Gambling was illegal in South Africa prior to 1996, the exception being betting on horses. A study by the Wiehahn Commission in 1995 recommended that the government regulate gambling to protect society from overstimulation, raise revenue through taxes, create employment and empower the.
- South Africa has been faced with strict gambling laws since the 1600s. In 1965, when the Gambling Act was introduced, all real money gambling became completely.
- Gambling activity there: South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. Put simply, South Africa is far and away the leader in terms of the African gambling industry. Despite the country’s centuries long history of banning all forms of gambling, which arose under the rule of brutal British colonization, the South.
Islamic Countries
Almost one-third of all Muslim population lives in Africa. In countries like Mauritania, Somalia, Algeria, Morocco, Niger, and Tunisia, more than 99% of the people are Muslim. These African countries, together with several others, are governed by Islamic law. According to Islam, gambling is a grave sin, which is why all forms of gambling are strictly forbidden.
Being caught gambling in a Muslim-dominant country can come with severe punishments. That’s why people in such countries don’t even attempt to run gambling operations or even participate in underground gambling games. These countries have no casinos, no sportsbooks, no poker rooms, and no lotteries.
Of course, offshore gambling sites are accessible to an extent, but these countries have very small online gambling penetration, and top offshore casinos and sportsbooks don’t even bother to welcome their residents.
Egypt
Egypt is a bit of an oddball when it comes to gambling laws. This is another country with a Muslim majority (around 95%). However, not all forms of gambling are illegal here. Namely, the state lottery is completely legal and is played by millions every week.
It’s also interesting that Egypt has several legal casino venues. Unsurprisingly, most of these casinos are located in the country’s capital Cairo. However, the casino grounds are only accessible to tourists and players who have come from abroad.
This is a clever way to boost the economy and the gambling sector while still abiding by Islamic law. To further discourage their citizens from playing gambling games, the casinos only accept payments in American dollars.
Nevertheless, it is a common practice among Egyptians to play gambling games online. The laws don’t mention anything about gambling on the internet, so this form of gambling is technically not illegal. Many offshore gambling sites accept players from Egypt. This is a country of over 100 million people, and the operators see it as a huge untapped market.
Nigeria
Illegal Gambling In South Africa Pretoria
Nigeria is one of the few African countries where gambling is fully regulated. What’s more, it’s one of the most competitive gambling markets on the continent. In charge of these regulations is the National Lottery Regulatory Commission that was established in 2005 when several forms of gambling became legal.
However, not all gambling games are legal in Nigeria. The only allowed forms of gambling are the lottery, land-based casinos, and sports wagering. While casinos are legal, several casino games are not, like dice games, roulette, and luck-based card games.
You would think that the Nigerian gambling laws forbid games of chance and only allow gambling that requires some skill, but this is not always the case. For example, video slots are legal as well, although slot machines can only be provided by licensed operators.
Nigeria has also regulated online gambling. Operators can apply for a license and offer gambling services over the web as long as they follow the rules and don’t offer any illegal games. There are also no restrictions on Nigerian residents who decide to play on offshore gambling sites.
South Africa
South Africa is one of the most developed African countries and a country with some of the most liberal gambling laws on the continent. All forms of gambling in South Africa were legalized in 1994 when the new government took power. The National Gambling Board regulates and supervises gambling in the country.
The most popular form of gambling in South Africa is the national lottery with five million transactions per week. The popularity of the lottery is followed by slot machines, scratchcards, and sports betting.
There are plenty of casinos in South Africa, and there’s one in almost every metropolitan area. The country is home to the largest casino on the continent called Rio Casino Resort, which is also the fifth-largest casino on the globe. South Africans love horse racing as well, which was the only legal form of gambling prior to 1994.
On the downside, online gambling has not been legalized yet, as the National Gambling Act of 2004 forbade interactive gambling services in all jurisdictions. To make matters worse, offshore gambling is illegal as well, although many South African players do occasionally find loopholes that allow them to play on foreign sites.
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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.
Is online gambling illegal in South Africa?
Well, the short answer is Yes and No! The National Gambling Board (NGB) is responsible for overseeing and regulating land-based gaming venues in South Africa. The legislation outlines the forms of permitted gambling, which includes land-based casinos, gaming machines in licensed premises and sports betting (phew…). All lotteries are governed separately by the Lotteries Act of 1997. So what this means is that the legislation does not permit online casino gambling in South Africa, but does allow other types of gambling related activities.
Anyway enough about that, let’s dive into the actual law.
In 2004, the NGB passed the National Gambling Act which banned online casino gambling within our borders. Online casino gambling via offshore servers was thereafter also prohibited in South Africa. At this point, many of the foreign online casinos stopped allowing South African customers from playing with them. Other online casinos have remained open to South Africans and continue to offer safe and reliable gaming to this incredibly lucrative market. The only case we know of where foreign online casino operators have been prosecuted for accepting business from South Africans, was in 2011, when the Supreme Court ruled against Piggs Peak Casino based in Swaziland.
So, the truth is that although online casino gambling remains illegal within South Africa, there are many operators outside of its borders which allow South Africans to play casino games online. Not only do these operators from foreign countries welcome South African players but many of them offer bonuses, rewards and special promotions in Rands. Some of these casinos even claim to be exclusive to South Africa and only accept ZAR. However, they are registered in countries such as Malta, Guernsey, Gibraltar, etc. where obtaining licenses is cheap and easy, and tax is minimal.
Some piece of mind for online casino gamblers is that South African players have little to be concerned about getting in hot water. The South African online gambling laws target the online casinos themselves and not individual players. The huge amount of tax revenue the government loses out on to these operators is their major headache – not putting gamblers behind bars. We’re not condoning punters going offshore and gambling in illegal activities here, just stating the current state of affairs.
The laws are changing
Since 2020 we’ve seen a number of casino style games being offered by South African bookmakers. These games have indeed been licensed and approved by their respective boards, in the province in which the license is held.
Punters can now legally enjoy playing certain approved games on sites like Sportingbet and Betway. If you’d like to check if the site you are playing on is licensed to offer casino games, then check if they are licensed in a province in South Africa in their info section. This will hopefully bring in sweeping changes to the online sports betting and casino industry, with more revenue being spent locally, rather than with illegal offshore casinos.
National Gambing Board Laws
What Are The Penalties For Illegal Gambling
The NGB dictates that the responsibility rests with the gaming operators as well as the banks that process payments, to play by the rules – and not with you. It’s not entirely impossible, however, that your winnings are confiscated en route to their bank accounts and deposited in the Unlawful Winnings Trust, administered by the NGB. This is highly unlikely, but unfortunately there’s no possible recourse if it does happen to you. When we say confiscated we mean bye bye money, we’ve experienced it ourselves and it usually starts with a call from the bank informing you that the funds are being confiscated and why.
Land-based and online sports betting through a licensed bookmaker is legal and always has been. In actual fact, it’s the only above board option if you want to use an online platform to place any kind of wager. The legality of online sports betting supposedly rests on the fact that the internet serves only as the medium for betting; the actual outcome is decided in the real – not the virtual – world.
Land-based and online sports betting through a licensed bookmaker is legal and always has been. In actual fact, it’s the only above board option if you want to use an online platform to place any kind of wager. The legality of online sports betting supposedly rests on the fact that the internet serves only as the medium for betting; the actual outcome is decided in the real – not the virtual – world.
Online Gambling Illegal In South Africa
A 2011 Gambling Review Commission pushed for new online gambling regulations that could help open up the online casino market in South Africa. It suggested that if government were to draw up new legislation and enforce online gambling regulation controls, not only would it gain a firm hold of the market, but also generate a significant amount of revenue. Hopefully this comes to fruition soon and spurs development of a thriving and fiercely competitive online gaming market in South Africa.
So to summarise the question, is online gambling illegal in South Africa? Yes, certain online Casino Gambling is illegal BUT online Sports Betting is not illegal! It boils down to what each province is willing to license.
We don’t know yet how the government might licence, tax and oversee online casinos, but the new industry has the potential to generate Billions of Rands which could be used for the benefit of our country. We hope this article helped answer the age old question of Is online gambling illegal in South Africa?
We don’t know yet how the government might licence, tax and oversee online casinos, but the new industry has the potential to generate Billions of Rands which could be used for the benefit of our country. We hope this article helped answer the age old question of Is online gambling illegal in South Africa?