South African Government Rejects Another Gambling Bill

Online poker and online casinos remain illegal as South Africa rejects new gambling legislation.

The government of South Africa has overwhelmingly rejected the latest attempt to regulate the country’s online gambling market, pouring cold water on the hopes of residents that they would finally be permitted to partake in other forms of online gaming.

For the time being, land-based casinos, horse racing betting and online sportsbooks are considered legal forms of gambling in the country, but online poker sites and online casinos remain illegal.

A Democratic Alliance (DA) party MP Geordin Hill-Lewis has been an avid supporter of the regulated gambling market over the last few years and he has now again attempted to persuade other members of the Parliament to accept the latest version of the Remote Gambling Bill that would allow South Africans to play online poker and online casino games.

The National Assembly’s Trade and Industry Committee had rejected said legal framework earlier this month, and the National Assembly yesterday debated whether to accept their findings.

The body eventually voted against the new gambling legislation, delivering another blow to Hill-Lewis’ plans of turning South Africa into a fully regulated gambling market.

Inkatha Freedom Party MP Jan Esterhuizen was one of the Parliament members who supported the DA MP, stating that the country’s attempts to prevent South African players from taking part in online poker or online casino gaming have utterly failed, with country residents still visiting international gambling websites in spite of the ban and hefty fines.

ClickaBet Becomes the Latest Sports Betting Operator

At the same time, South Africa has welcomed back ClickaBet as the new licensed sports betting operator just weeks ahead of the 2016 European Championship in France.

Licensed by the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, the new sportsbook is owned by former CEO of Altech, a telecommunication and electronics company.

ClickaBet chose Bettech Gaming as a partner powering their software platform, and that was hardly a surprise considering that the turnkey provider already works with numerous other South African gaming websites such as Playabets.