‘Lack of regulation hampers growth of gambling sector’
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ONLINE gambling and betting platforms have gained irreversible traction through the Covid-19 lockdown periods, but the lack of government regulation is hampering the sector as the industry grows into multi billions of revenue, according to Sunbet, a subsidiary of Sun International Resorts.
A virtual conference was held this week looking at the legalities of online betting versus online gambling and the lack of a regulatory environment, which has seen some South African players losing in high stakes.
Sunbet's general manager, Nitesh Matai, said in 2020 alone the Western Cape gambling scene generated more than R8.7bn in revenue, which had grown exponentially, particularly on a national level since then.
Commentators at the conference said the biggest hiccup yet yet had been the lack of government oversight, which had seen a rapid mushrooming of betting cafés which more often than not take advantage of players.
However, the lack of government regulations was allowing a lot of global operators, not based in South Africa to operate, who were actually not even based in South Africa.
“They are not paying tax here, they are taking the money away," said Matai.
"There are as many casinos out there as there are people willing to play. There is a poor regulatory environment. The government fails to close down the illegal gambling houses," he said.
He said the issue was compounded by the banking sector, which could, if willing, keep tabs on the illegal gambling houses because customers used money within the sector to finance their play.
He said the established land gambling houses faced pressing restrictions while illegal gambling houses got away with operating like internet cafés and escaped the scrutiny of the law.
Currently, owning, operating, and gambling in online casinos is illegal within South African borders. Since 2010, the act of online casino gambling has been strictly prohibited in South Africa.
