South Africa may soften its anti-igaming line. Adheera Bodasing of Polarity Consulting, a specialist gambling lawyer and former member of the Gambling Review Commission, said this week that the country’s Department of Trade and Industry should review its position on the subject of online gambling.
“The DTI maintained its view that online gambling should remain illegal, however there appears to be a major shift in thinking among the ANC (African National Congress, a political party – Ed.) members of the committee who felt that online gambling should be regulated and that the DTI should review its position on it.”
The DTI this week presented its South African National Gambling Amendment Bill to the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry. The bill calls for changes to definitions in the Gambling Act of 2004, repositions the National Gambling Board as the National Gambling Regulator; offers greater powers to the regulator; prohibits dog racing and betting on dog racing; strengthens the regulation of casinos, limited payout machines and bingo and other changes.
