Illegal online gambling in South Africa campaign to launch

The Casino Association of South Africa is set to launch an education campaign on the consequences of illegal online gambling in South Africa.

The campaign, which is expected to run until the end of the first quarter next year, is designed to highlight the real issues behind illegal online gambling, to warn and protect unsuspecting players, as well as inform on the consequences that operators and property owners could face if concerted action is not taken.

“We’ve been tracking the incidence of illegal and unregulated online gambling as an industry and are very concerned at the growth in usage and operations which are targeting unsuspecting South African players,” Themba Ngobese, chief executive officer of CASA notes. “It may all seem like harmless fun to gamble online, but players are completely unprotected and operators are not registered or regulated to run a business in our country.”

The campaign will run across various media platforms providing information on the legality of online gambling along with the consequences of a R10 million fine, or 10 years in prison for players and operators alike.

“Players need to be warned that if they win online, firstly there is no legislation or guarantee that the operator will pay at all; and secondly any winnings will be forfeited by your credit card company to the state,” Ngobese clarified.

“It is extremely concerning to see numerous websites which blatantly use the South African flag on their home page and state they accept South African Rands (ZAR) and are ‘verified’, when it’s all completely illegal. They are luring unsuspecting players to spend and lose their hard-earned money offshore with no protection to players and tax return back into our country.”

The campaign urges whistleblowers to contact their provincial gambling board, or alternatively email info@casasa.org.za.