South Africa Says 'Ja' to Online Gambling

A bill was approved in South Africa's parliament that will regulate online gambling in the country.

It follows a few months of developments, at one time opening up to the idea of a regulated market, then backtracking and opposing it.

Although the current status of online gambling is undetermined, the South African market is estimated at billions of rand annually.

The new bill, which must be signed by President Thabo Mbeki in order to officially pass, will regulate this market.

The situation has simply been too wasteful for the government, and dangerous for South Africans. A memorandum attached to the National Gambling Amendment Bill says the situation "has resulted in a considerable loss of revenue to the national fiscus and compromises the country's reputation as a responsible global citizen."

But above all, according to the bill's stated goal, is to "ensure that all gambling activities are conducted responsibly, fairly and honestly (and to) protect minors and other vulnerable persons from the negative effects of gambling."

Once officially signed into law, it will be enforced by South Africa's National Gambling Board, from licensing to electronically monitoring addictive behavior by gamblers.

You can find more news about South Africa's legal shift towards online gambling, or subscribe to the News Alerts on the right of the screen for updates next time we cover the subject.