Experts estimate that there are over 500,000 people who play in online casinos just
in South Africa alone.
This makes the gambling industry worth R800 million per annum – a rate
that is only bound to increase as more and more people get into it in the following years, especially
since the online casinos are planning to make a huge migration from the PC to the mobile phone.
More and more gambling applications are being made for mobile phones as we speak, so the availability
and accessibility of these online casinos will only improve. Also, according to the statistics, a huge
portion of the 500,000 people who are playing on online casinos are already playing through their mobile
phones, and this makes the market in South Africa highly attractive to casinos.
Legal Issues
However, the demon rears its ugly head once again as the legality of online casinos are questioned.
Presently, the government is leaning towards the idea that online gambling is illegal. The only reason
why the online casinos are still able to operate there is because the law in South Africa is still
unclear and unstable. They are hiding behind the belief that, since the casinos are based somewhere else,
then the players are also wagering at a 'different location', so to speak, one other than their own country.
This type of reasoning is an obvious warping and manipulation of the word of law. However, if South Africa
does not do anything about it, then they really can't do anything about it. In this climate, the online
casinos are pretty much free to operate without fear of proper legislation. However, the lawmakers of
South Africa are already aiming to clarify and to strengthen the weak points of their legislation –
possibly leading to a dangerous situation for the online gambling industry's aims in South Africa.
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