TOOTHLESS BULLDOG?
10 February 2012
South African gambling regulator makes a
surprising admission
South Africa may have some draconian
anti-online gambling legislation on the books, including
the prosecution of individual internet gamblers a la
Washington State, but can these be effectively enforced?
Apparently not, according to a remarkably frank
admission to the publication ITWeb by the chief
executive of the National Gambling Board, Baby Tyawa.
Tyawa said her organisation is "powerless to stop
international online casinos illegally offering their
services to South African punters, because the Internet
is virtual and the board does not have any international
jurisdiction."
All that can be done is to
communicate with other regulators and seek their help,
or attempt to catch local punters using illegal gambling
websites.
The gambling regulator said that the
Board was aware that South Africans could easily access
offshore casinos offering internet betting and gambling
in SA currency, but there was little that the Board
could do about it unless the servers were in South
Africa...and she admitted: "There is a lot of illegal
online gambling going on that we are not aware of."
On the threat level, SA banks have warned their
credit card clients that online gambling is illegal;
government authorities repeatedly publicise the extreme
punitive measures available in order to discourage
gamblers from visiting overseas websites; and operators
are regularly informed that if they are blacklisted it
may disqualify them from obtaining a South African
licence should the country eventually legalise the
pastime.
The authorities have also intimated that
they attempt to track punters through credit card
transactions via the South African Reserve Bank and the
Banking Council of SA. However, sometimes the wagers are
hidden as "leisure" and cannot be traced.
Legalisation is an event that is unlikely to come about
for at least two years, according to experts. A
government commission has recommend legalisation and
licensing, but the government has been studying the
possibilities for years and appears to be no further
forward.
Thus far there have been no prosecutions
for online gambling, although there is provision for
imprisonment, seizure of winnings and fines as high as
Rands 10 million
In the meantime, to quote Ms.
Tyawa on enforcing the ban: "We are the first to accept
it's an impossible mission."
Online Casino News Courtesy of
Infopowa
More news here.
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