Online Casino Gambling Legal South Africa

 
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Vulkan Vegas is an online casino based in Cyprus. It is most popular among European countries, but that does not mean players from other countries are not welcomed. This platform has become very famous in South Africa, thanks to its massive assortment of games from the finest software developers and also its exceptional offers. While South Africa has authorized online sports betting, it has yet to authorize legal online casinos, largely due to opposition by the country’s land-based casino sector (ahem), which has. Since online gambling has been permitted, the government aimed to offer 10 licenses to casino sites that would operate in South Africa. These were to be the only sites accessed by players. However, many international casino sites still accept cash players from South Africa, so there are actually many more than 10 options available. South African Online Gambling Laws Gambling laws in South Africa are legislated in the National Gambling Act of 2004. According to this Act, which was amended in 2018, online gambling (or interactive gaming) and online casinos are illegal.

South Africa has one of the strictest online gambling laws in the world. Ever since the country enacted its first Gambling Act in 1965, it has undergone several modifications such as the September 2011 law which verified that online gambling isn’t permitted within the country.

However, there are still many South Africans who enjoy betting online, since the gambling laws present are mainly geared towards the virtual casinos and not individual players.

Current legal policies on gambling:

Online gambling has remained to be a controversial matter in the country. Whereas some people want the market to open up so as to bring in more income, others still maintain a traditional outlook and favor the limitations currently in place.

Previously, there was a blanket restriction on all types of gambling, but this was repealed following the formation of the 1996 National Gambling Act. This institution was given mandate to start regulating the sector, and further delegated powers to South Africa’s 9 local provinces to give licenses to virtual betting sportsbooks.

Currently, only sports gambling is allowed in South Africa and not the traditional online casino games such as slots, poker, roulette or blackjack. While citizens are allowed to try their luck in a variety of sports competitions such as soccer, rugby and horse riding, all online sportsbooks must first be licensed by their host province in order to be recognized as legal.

In 2010, the country’s courts ruled that it was unlawful for online casinos found outside the borders to provide any gambling services to residents. Moreover, it’s illegal for anyone to gamble online using a South-African IP address. With the exception of a few licensed operators who are regulated, managed and levied by NGB, as well as the local provinces.

As for the penalties, any casino, banking institution or player caught facilitating online gambling outside the law faces a stiff fine of around 10 million Rand, including 10 years imprisonment or both sentences. Nevertheless, many native players are still finding innovative ways of accessing online casino games from countries that permit them to register. Since most providers operating in the country are actually based outside the nation’s borders, any likely penalties are rare since the laws don’t apply in their specific jurisdictions.

If caught making a profit from these external gambling sites, the South African government can only force you to transfer the proceeds to a common treasury-trust account. Currently, statistics show that there are about 3.5 million Rand stored in the account from foreign gambling platforms.

Betting alternatives in South Africa:

Despite the heavy restrictions on online gaming, there are still some few operators who attract South African players by the numbers. Before choosing any online gambling platform available in the country, check whether it’s fully licensed and controlled by its country of origin. The site should also have comprehensive security measures that offer protection for your financial details.

Moreover, a virtual casino that’s reviewed by other 3rd parties in the industry ensures that the platform adheres to minimum quality standards, which protect the players’ rights and fairness of gaming.

Nowadays, there are also online casinos that allow South African players to make deposits and withdrawals in their local Rand currency. Apart from making transactions, you’ll also be able to play online games using the local monetary unit. This way, you can avoid paying hefty conversion charges that you would have otherwise incurred if playing with another currency other than the Rand.

Additionally, if you are based in South Africa you can easily bypass the country’s restrictive laws on online gambling by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). It will mask your IP address so that authorities won’t be able to know whose betting on these foreign sites.

Online Casino Gambling Legal South Africa

In Short

To summarize, while online gambling in South Africa is illegal, the government still permits sports-betting from companies that have been registered and approved by the province where they operate from.

However, as a South African player it’s still possible to access your favorite online casino games from other jurisdictions by using a VPN server. It will so that you can play from any online casino around the world where everyone is allowed to register. Nevertheless, you should always be careful when gambling on foreign online casinos available in South Africa, since the government may forfeit your proceeds to the treasury trust funds when caught.


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Africa

South Africa is one of many countries around the world where only land-based gambling is permitted. The National Gambling Board has a role equivalent to that of the UKGC, which means that it is responsible for regulating the gaming venues located within the borders of South Africa. That being said, there are some South African Online Casinos that have been granted licenses to operate and provide their services to citizens of the country. Find out more in the following guide!

South African CasinoLegal StatusCasino Laws in South AfricaCasino Games Legal OverviewGambling in South AfricaConclusion:What Could Be Expected?

Are Online Casinos South Africa Legal – Details on South African Online Casino Laws

The history of gambling in South Africa is one of proscription and prohibition. It has been strictly forbidden in all of its forms since 1673. In more recent times the 1965 Gambling Act had once again banned all types of gambling, with the sole exception of horse betting which is regarded as being a sport. It took another 30 years and over 2000 illegal casinos before the newly elected democratic government took the required steps to legalise all forms of gambling in 1994. Two years later the 1996 National Gambling Act came about and with it, South Africa finally had a working system for regulating, promoting and sanctioning gambling.

And the organisation whose job is to regulate and supervise the gambling industry in South Africa is theNational Gambling Board, which was also founded with the 1996 National Gambling Act. Their main goal is to popularise South Africa as the go-to jurisdiction in the region by effectively and unimpeachably regulating the sector. As you know, we believe that safety should be the very first priority of both the players and the gaming establishments, which is why our advice is to only visit casinos or sportsbooks that have been licensed by the Sout African NGB.

And while the last 30 years have seen huge advancements made in the field of land-based gambling, the same could not be said about offshore gaming. In 2010 it became officially illegal to play at online casinos that don’t have a South African IP. Having said that, we would like to make it clear that there are several remote gambling venues that have been licensed and are open to players from the country. If you decide to ignore that, however, you may face a huge fine or even worse – end up in jail. So make sure that you are not violating any laws and play only at the licensed South African online casinos!

Africa

Online Casinos in South Africa – What Games Are Legal?

As we already mentioned, gambling in South Africa is legal as long as you visit land-based venues or the approved South African online casinos. What this means is that you can expect to find all popular game genres and many of the latest and player-favourite titles. Down below you will find a list of all the games that have been endorsed under the South African gambling law.

  • Video Slots
  • Roulette
  • Baccarat
  • Poker
  • Blackjack
  • Live Casino Games
  • Wheel of Fortune
  • Craps

While players can currently count with a relatively rich choice of games, we expect the available options to grow in the future. Before we move on, we would like to remind you that most of the games are only available at land-based casinos and that the accessible casino sites may not always be safe.

Gambling Trivia & Curious Facts

Having taken a detailed look at the current gambling situation in South Africa it is now time that we share some of the most interesting facts and figures that we came across in our research. So sit back and relax while we take you through the quirks of gambling in South Africa.

  • The National Lottery is by far the most popular type of gambling in South Africa. The little available research shows that an incredible 80% of the population are buying tickets on a weekly basis and an almost 100% have participated at one point or another. Recent figures, however, suggest that the number of people interested in playing the lottery has shrunk with 6% between 2016 and 2018.
  • Biggest Gamblers in the World – It is a common misconception that South Africans are the biggest gamblers in the world per capita. And whilst there is absolutely no doubt that they love to wager, people from South Africa are not even close to the number one in this list. Instead, for the past 4 years, it has been occupied by the Australians who are spending an average of $1000 per adult resident per year.
  • Mark Vos and Raymond Rahme are South Africa’s most famous gamblers. Both of them have become real stars in the world of poker having won multiple events at the World Series of Poker. Between the two of them they have bagged well over $5,000,000 in the WSOP alone and who knows how much in the numerous online tournaments that they have taken part in.
  • Gambling

    Frequently Asked Questions

    In the last section of our review to gambling in South Africa, we are going to take a minute and attend to your most frequently asked questions on this topic. We hope that you find them useful and interesting and as always we’ve tried our best to keep the answers short and easy to read.

    ⚖️ Is Gambling Legal in South Africa?

    Yes, gambling is legal in South Africa. That is especially true for land-based establishments as they are regulated and completely legitimate. Offshore gaming, on the other hand, is only possible at the approved South African Online Casinos list included in the guide. Find out more by reading our guide to the current legal situation in South Africa.

    💛 Which are the best paying online casinos South Africa?

    Choosing the best paying online casinos South Africa is especially hard as they all stand out with awesome welcome bonuses, diverse game collections, flawless mobile compatibility and state of the art security. Thus, whichever one you end up choosing you will not regret it!

    Gambling

    🎲 What casino games can you play at the best online casinos in South Africa?

    The South African online casinos offer a wide range of gambling genres such as video slots, roulettes, blackjack, poker, baccarat, craps and many others. Check out the full list of available games at the online casinos in South Africa to learn more!

    Conclusion – Future Perspectives for Online Casinos in Country

    Having reached the end of our guide to gambling and online casinos in South Africa it is now time to give you a quick recap. First and foremost, we would like to note that all forms of conventional land-based gambling are permitted within the borders of the country. Whether these are poker halls, casinos or sportsbooks they have all been legitimised and regulated under the 1996 and 2010 National Gambling Acts. However, if you want to play at an online casino in South Africa you should better stick to the venues officially approved by the National Gambling Board unless you want to pay a massive fine or end up behind bars. That being said, if the gambling law undergoes any changes you can rest assured that we will be the first ones to let you know.