Antigua-Barbuda hosted South African mission to study remote gaming policies

The NGB is the regulatory body within South Africa responsible for national policy and development for land based gaming and will also be responsible for the supervision of interactive gaming and interactive wagering. It was the first visit of this kind by the NGB to Antigua and Barbuda and it is in an effort towards strengthening their ties with gaming regulators worldwide.

South Africa in July 2008 enacted remote legislation and is now in the process of developing the supportive regulations. The jurisdiction of Antigua and Barbuda is one of three jurisdictions selected by the NGB to assist in the development of their licensing and regulatory regime.

The NGB Deputy Chairman and Acting CEO, Mmathebe (Thebi) Moja stated, “The NGB as a member of the International Association of Gaming Regulators recognises the FSRC, Division of Gaming of Antigua and Barbuda as a leader in remote gaming regulation, and therefore NGB has chosen to understudy their detailed policy and regulatory framework to strengthen before implementation of our legislation that sees to legalise and regulate online gambling."

Mojo extended her appreciation for the gracious hospitality provided thus far during this very informative fact finding mission.

The FSRC Chairperson, Althea Crick expressed her pleasure in receiving the NGB, and stated, “I am particularly heartened by the selection of the jurisdiction by the NGB as it underscores the confidence placed by the international community on our regulatory and supervisory machinery, it also is a demonstration of the interconnectivity of the global regulatory regime, sharing and working together to achieve and sustain international best practices.”

The delegation while visiting was exposed to a series of presentations covering broad range of regulatory, licencing and supervisory policies, inclusive of meetings with the Minister of Finance, the Economy and Public Administration, Harold Lovell, the FSRC Board of Directors, key government agencies, officials and gaming operators.

At the culmination of the exercise the NGB wished to gain an understanding of the issues surrounding interactive gaming and interactive wagering as they intend to license operators in the future, adding to the already existing services within South Africa such as land based casino, pari-mutuel wagering on horseracing, bingo and payout slot machines.

Kaye McDonald, Director of Gaming commented that she was pleased that the jurisdiction was selected with other internationally recognized jurisdictions like the United Kingdom and Alderney involved in licencing and regulating remote gaming.

The Director of Gaming views this initiative as undoubtedly an opportunity to advance the profile of Antigua and Barbuda internationally as a highly regarded and well regulated remote gaming jurisdiction.