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South Africa to
Allow Online
Gambling
CAPE
TOWN (Reuters) -
South Africa's
parliament approved
a new Internet
gambling law to
regulate an industry
plagued by crime and
vulnerable to money
laundering and
terrorism financing,
parliamentary papers
showed on Monday.
A memorandum
attached to the
National Gambling
Amendment Bill said
the interactive
gambling industry in
Africa's biggest
economy was
currently
unregulated and
"generally plagued"
by crime.
"This situation has
resulted in a
considerable loss of
revenue to the
national fiscus and
compromises the
country's reputation
as a responsible
global citizen," it
said.
The new bill aims to
address the negative
socio-economic
effects associated
with gambling and
deals specifically
with issues of
problem gambling,
player protection,
licensing, taxation
and advertising.
Every online player
would need to be
registered with a
licensed interactive
gambling provider
and submit an
affidavit to ensure
they were older than
18 years.
"The purpose of this
Act is to ensure
that all gambling
activities are
conducted
responsibly, fairly
and honestly (and
to) protect minors
and other vulnerable
persons from the
negative effects of
gambling," it said.
The bill also
allowed for an
electronic
monitoring system to
help root out
potentially
addictive behaviour
and restrict credit
extensions to
players.
President Thabo
Mbeki must still
sign the bill into
law before it comes
into effect.
The United States, a
major market for
website punters,
recently banned
online gambling,
hitting revenues at
sites offering a
variety of games,
including blackjack
and roulette.
According to South
Africa's National
Gambling Board,
which will enforce
the country's new
laws, revenues
across all forms of
gambling, excluding
Internet, increased
to 13.5 billion rand
in 2006/07 from 6.2
billion rand in
2001/02.
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Published to
Gambling911.com May
21, 2008 9:28 am EST
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