South Africa to impose stringent gaming legislation

The draft bill is currently available on the Department of Trade and Industry’s website.

Some of the biggest changes proposed by the Amendment Bill –which has existed in various forms since 2016– include:

• Repositioning the National Gambling Board to be a National Gambling Regulator;
• Transferring the regulation of all bets on the national lottery, foreign lottery, lottery results and sports pools to a National Lotteries Commission;
• Prohibiting dog racing and bets on dog racing in South Africa;
• Strengthening the regulation of casinos, limited pay-out machines and bingo. This includes the regulation of electronic forms of bingo, and the maximum number of bingo licenses and machines that can be granted in South Africa;
• Restrictions on gambling premises and locations of automated tellers – including ‘seperate’ and ‘hidden’ entrances for gambling areas located inside general public places such as shopping malls, arcades, complexes or centres;
• Recognition of a self-regulating body in the horse racing industry;
• Providing for broad-based black economic empowerment in the gambling industry. Notably this will apply to individuals applying for gambling licences;
• Unlawful winnings will now be forfeited to the National Gambling Regulator;
• Imposing gambling advertising restrictions.