According to Baby Tyawa, CEO of the National Gambling Board, it is impossible to control online gambling in South Africa.
According to the CEO of the National Gambling Board (NGB), Baby Tyawa, there is a vast amount of illegal online gambling in South Africa that the board is unaware of. Tyawa explained that the NGB is powerless to prevent international casinos offering their services to South African punters as the board does not have international jurisdiction.
All the board can do is write to international regulators and ask them to inform operators that a blacklist is being compiled which may limit the chances of being granted a license should online gambling be legalised in South Africa.
Whilst the Gambling Review Commission has recommended that online gambling be legalised and at least ten licenses issued, it is unlikely that any changes will occur for at least two more years due to the length processes involved. Tyawa said that the problem is that online gambling is virtual and the NGB has no idea where it is happening, she said that they “are the first to accept it’s an impossible mission.”
At present the board attempts to find online gamblers through their relationship with the South African Reserve Bank and the Banking Council of SA which enables them to trace credit card transactions. However, many of the transactions are hidden as “leisure” which makes them impossible to trace.
Since the ban was implemented no one has been arrested for illegal online gambling. South Africans caught gambling illegally face fines of up to R10 million or jail time. They will also have to give up any winnings to the National Treasury if they are caught.
According to Tyawa, an awareness campaign is set to be launched to inform punters that their winnings will be taken away. They are also planning to work closer with other departments to avoid illegal gambling being used for money laundering purposes.
