New gaming bill gives right to confiscate winnings in South Africa

South Africa is preparing new ways to fight against illegal online gambling. One of the new measures is government‘s right to confiscate any unlawful winnings.

South Africa‘s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published the National Gambling Amendment Bill of 2016, which will be open for public comment until November 15, 2016. It proposes changes to minimise social ills generally associates with gambling and to curb online gambling, said South Africa‘s Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies.

Minister Davies said that even though the gambling industry contributes significantly to employment and the GDP in South Africa, the fact remains that it has a negative effect on gambling addiction. According to Davies, on average about R3000 monthly is spent by gamblers in the country.

According to 2004 Gambling Act, the government was required to appeal to the High Court in order to confiscate illegal gambling winnings. This part is repealed in the new proposal, enabling automatic forfeiture of illegal winnings to the new National Gambling Regulator

DTI Minister Rob Davies commented on monitoring gamblers’ online activity. “If you go online, we may not be able to stop you when you play the game, but when you win, we get you.”

Today only online sports betting is permitted in South Africa, any other type of online casino or poker remains illegal.