South Africa Legalizing Online Gambling

March 27, 2008

It seems that even South Africa has gotten on the bandwagon for legalizing online gambling. There is currently a bill sitting in the Select Committee of National Provinces that would legalize online gambling for the country. If it is passed it will go on to the National Assembly for final approval.

This is good news to South African residents as many would like to participate in online gambling and many do. However, if they are caught participating in it they will be arrested and charged with breaking the law. They could serve jail time and will pay large fines if they are caught.

There isn’t a single company currently licensed in South Africa for online gambling, and if it is made legal the country says that they can expect to be flooded with requests for online gambling licenses within their country. Those that are currently running illegal online gambling sites can pretty much do whatever they want as there is no recourse against them.

It doesn’t’ matter whether or not the site is not listed in South Africa, as prison and fines will be applied no matter which online gambling site you choose to play.

Those that are currently participating can run into troubles with their online gambling providers. If they choose to take their clients’ money and run they will be able to do so without any repercussions from the government as it is illegal. Once it is made legal, those that wish to participate can do so in a protected environment.

The government says that those that are currently operating illegally will not be eligible for licensing once they are handed out. Only those that have not run an illegal online gambling site will be able to become licensed within the country.

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