South Africa’s effort to maintain control over unlawful gambling has lasted over 350 years, and the situation continues to be very difficult. South Africa’s colonial governing class started horse breeding in the mid-17th century, a practice that was common around the world at the time. Thoroughbred horse breeding would not commence until the late 18th century. Racing events for competitive horses started shortly thereafter, with the country’s first legally recognized race taking place in 1797 in Cape Town’s Green Point Common.
Despite the fact that gambling was still prohibited by the statute of 1673 for this first race, it is commonly considered that a significant amount of unlawful wagering on the race’s result was taking place at the time.
Along with many other colonial territories, South Africa was one of the first countries to permit horse racing betting, which was the case in South Africa as well. In the instance of South African legislation, wagering on horse racing was restricted in terms of the amount of money that may be lawfully gambled on a particular event in a given day. This legal maneuver in the nineteenth century was very certainly connected to the booming horse-breeding business in the area.
What is the history of South Africa’s gambling laws and regulations?
During the gold and diamond rushes of the mid- to late-1880s in the Witwatersrand region, shysters were more than willing to assist would-be prospectors in parting with their money in often crooked games – an occurrence that is familiar to anyone who has even a passing familiarity with the California and Alaska gold rushes, for example.Because of certain loopholes exploited in various areas to allow hotels to host traditional-style casinos, the 1970s saw a mini boom in casino-style gambling in South Africa despite the strict Gambling Act of 1965. The semi-autonomous regions of Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transkei and Venda were among the most notable in this regard.
With this model in place, however, fly-by-night enterprises – once again operating on the “fool and his money” basis – sprung up and disappeared throughout the decade, as well as the next decade and the following decade. It was estimated that there were 2,000 illegal gambling establishments operating in South Africa at any one time at its height, with places like Bophuthatswana, the Ciskei, and Venda virtually permitting these enterprises to operate inside the “gray economy.”
What occurred in South Africa when change finally arrived?
When massive political upheaval swept across South Africa in the 1990s, and decades-old Apartheid laws were finally repealed, gambling legislation was one of the issues that a reformed, more democratic government was able to handle quickly. The 1990s saw the passage of legislation allowing for the licensing of gambling enterprises by individual states, preparing the stage for the passage of the National Gambling Act in 1996. It was during this period that the National Gaming Board was established, which was quickly followed by the issuing of around 40 gambling licenses, enabling the holders of these licenses to open gaming establishments in different places across South Africa.
Do you know whether internet gambling is permitted in South Africa?
The reformation of gambling legislation in South Africa, which updated the “bricks-and-mortar” setting of the business, continued in a somewhat confusing way for the internet milieu far into the 2000s and beyond, according to the country’s Gambling Commission.Another version of the National Gambling Act was put in place in 2004, and this was followed by the National Gambling Amendment, which was passed the following year. Even though both legislation tried to regulate gaming at South African internet casinos, the answer to the question “Is online gambling legal in South Africa?” remains a tense “yes and no” as of this writing. The national laws of the 2000s, which are similar to those of Australia and Canada, delegate authority to the states on this issue. In South Africa, legally legal internet casino operations controlled by local government agencies are already operating in every province, but an estimated 2,000 such websites may be visited by any resident of the country without danger of being prosecuted.However, five years after the legislation was passed, the South African national government wants to maintain the very regressive regulations that were put in place in 2012. As a result of this legislation, any prizes from games of chance, including the national lottery, that exceed SAR 25,000 (about $4,000) are subject to income tax at a rate of 15 percent.