South Africa Bans Online Gambling

Submitted by Evan on Wed, 2010-08-25 at 17:20

Effective immediately, online gambling will now be banned in South Africa, after Johannesburg High Court decided that the activity was unhealthy for the country.

The ban will work in a similar fashion as the American UIGEA. It will now be illegal for anyone in the country to offer online casinos, making internet service providers based in South Africa responsible for blocking all online gambling websites. Banks and other financial institutions will also be held accountable if they allow any transactions to take place between online casinos and South African citizens.

Mass media outlets will no longer be able to advertise online casinos, as well. This was previously a profitable venture, but the new ban has ensured that online gambling operators will no longer able to use television and radio to advertise their services. Players, too, will also face fines if there are found gambling online.

Anyone who is found guilty violating any of the new terms could face up to $1.35 million in fines and 10 years in jail.

The online gambling industry in South Africa is worth nearly 1 billion Rand ($100 million American), which leads players to believe that the activity will continue to take place, despite the ban. Players and professionals are skeptical about the new laws, but only time will tell if they will be enforced successfully.