Gambling Laws in South Africa

The gambling laws in South Africa have gone through a roller coaster ride of legality. Over the decades the laws have changed and gone back and forth between what methods of wagering are allowed. Currently, there is confusion regarding the status of online gambling and the use of offshore establishments.

The History Of Gambling Laws (And Why They’re Confusing)

The laws governing online gambling are crystal clear. Let’s start with the first laws that came into being in 1673 when the Dutch settlers banned gambling. Then after a few centuries passed, in 1965, the ban on gambling was written into law, except for horse racing. This lapse is not unique in South Africa’s history of laws on gambling.

In the 1970s, land-based casinos started being set up in areas like Bophuthatswana, Venda, Ciskei, and Transkei. Sun City was the most famous of these casinos, and because Bophuthatswana was declared an independent state by South Africa’s apartheid regime, it was perfectly legal to gamble there.

Additionally, Sun City was within driving distance of two of the biggest metropolitans: Pretoria and Johannesburg, making it a popular getaway for SA citizens.

This brings us to illegal gambling in South Africa; it was popular. With more than 2,000 illegal casinos in 1995. These illegal casinos were primarily tiny holes in the wall with a few slot machines and completely free to do as they wanted, specifically not paying taxes.

So, in 1996 the National Gambling Act was passed, allowing land-based casinos and the national lottery, and the number of illegal casinos started declining. However, no mention was made regarding horse racing, so it continued as it had since 1965.

Then in 2004, the National Gambling Act of 1996 was overruled and replaced with the Act of 2004, which made online gambling illegal.

However, this created some problems, so, in 2008, the National Gambling Act received an amendment that was passed but not promulgated. This amendment made online gambling legal. Just not yet, because promulgation is the part of the process that sets a beginning date for any laws passed.

Then in 2010, the high court announced that offshore casinos couldn’t legally accept South African players, which negated the 2008 act. Then the Remote Bill of 2014 was proposed, and to date, there has been no further communication on if it has been passed or not. All of this boils down to the 2004 National Gambling act remaining in place.

Mainly because all laws since have either not been passed or promulgated. You face a fine and may lose any winnings if you transfer them to your SA bank account. However, the casino faces a far heftier fine and is the only entity that can be traced easily, making the risk to online casinos higher. Additionally, we couldn’t find any records of somebody being arrested for infringing this law.

So, What is Legal?

The long and short of it is that bookmakers for sports events and horse racing licensed in South Africa are perfectly acceptable, as are licensed land-based casinos, the Lotto, Bingo, and limited payout machines.

However, online casinos are still illegal. So many people still gamble at online casinos because the law isn’t enforced, and in a way, it can’t be. The only way to enforce the law is to tackle the casino itself, and it can’t because all of the South African casinos are based outside of South Africa. They’re more correctly labeled as online casinos, designed for South Africans and accepting rands.

Top 5 Online Casinos that Accept ZAR

However, we have found five online casinos aimed at South African residents, or at the least that don’t have South African players on the restricted or forbidden list. According to PlayCasino.co.za these online casinos accept rands and are licensed and regulated.

1. Springbok Casino – Offers Afrikaans Version

Launched in 2012, Springbok Casino is licensed out of Curacao. The welcome offer is for R250 free bet with no deposit required and a matched deposit bonus worth R11,500 spread over three deposits. We recommend that you read the fine print for Springbok Casino’s welcome offer.

There are wagering requirements attached to the promotions. Springbok Casino is also available in English and Afrikaans and has customer support 24/7 through live chat, phone, or email. You can download a mobile app or play selected games through your smartphone’s browser.

There is also the option to download Springbok Casino so that you can play offline. You’re offered an excellent selection of games, including slots, table games, video poker, roulette, and blackjack.

2. ZAR Casino – Fan Favourite

ZAR Casino’s a relative newcomer to online casinos, established in 2006 and licensed out of Curacao. It’s highly rated by many site fans and proudly proclaims that it won the fan choice award and the online slots award. The list of promotions on offer is impressive and includes a welcome offer worth up to R15,000. It’s a 200% matched deposit bonus with 100 free spins.

You can find the terms and conditions in the links in the page’s footer. The selection of games is impressive and includes live dealer games with the usual offerings of slots, roulette, table games, keno, etc. You can contact customer support through live chat, email, or a phone call 24/7.

3. Silver Sands Casino – Recognised and Trusted

Silver Sands Casino established itself in 1999 as a brick-and-mortar establishment before launching into the online casino industry licensed out of Curacao. The welcome offer is an R200 no deposit bonus and a matched deposit bonus worth up to R8,888 spread over three deposits.

You can download Silver Sands Casino software to play when offline, and there is also a mobile app available. The selection of games is reasonable and includes all the usual games you’d expect to find, like slots, table games, specialty, and progressive jackpots.

4.   Casino.com – Good Game Selection

Casino.com launched in 1997 and is licensed out of Gibraltar. The welcome offer is for 20 free spins on registration without needing to make a deposit. Additionally, Casino.com will double your first deposit with a 100% matched deposit bonus for up to $400 (between R5,500 and R6,000).

You’ll also receive 180 more free spins. We recommend that you read the terms and conditions carefully as there is a 40x wagering requirement amongst other restrictions.

The selection of games on offer is impressive and includes a live casino. Customer support is also available 24/7 and can be contacted through live chat or email; there’s an international phone number to contact too, but not a local one.

5.   Europa Casino – Best Licence and Regulator

Europa Casino launched in 2004 and is licensed out of Malta, one of the better regulators in the online casino industry. The welcome offer is a matched deposit of 100% up to R1,000, going up to R24,000 spread over an entire year.

The home page offers three options for games; you can play slots, casino, and live casino. This is deceiving, though, as there are more than 400 games available on the site. Europa Casino’s customer support is available 24/7 and can be contacted via live chat or email.

Final Thoughts

The latest news is that the laws regarding online gambling in South Africa are changing, so even though online casinos are illegal, many opt to use their services anyway. We’ll never encourage illegal activity, but understand that ultimately you’re the one making the decision.

Each of these casinos is well worth consideration, and each has something special to it. Several other casinos are available to South African players, even though we limited our list to five, mainly because we chose the ones that stood out the most. These casinos are all worthwhile, so this list is an excellent place to start if you’re shopping around for an online casino.

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Sources:

https://www.ggb.org.za/
https://www.legalgamblingandthelaw.com/sa/gambling-laws-in-south-africa