SOUTH AFRICA Law and Practice Contributed by: Wayne Lurie, Lurie Inc
Crypto One of the larger operators in the online space, Bet- way, has announced this year that they are introducing a stable coin pegged to the South African rand and set to be launched in Q1 2026. The project appears to be aimed at reducing banking and payment processing costs in Africa. Lottery Bets A court case that commenced in 2016 in Mpumalanga surrounding whether a handful of bookmakers could lay online fixed-odds bets on the outcome of lotteries, as had been permitted by the MER, or whether this constituted an actual lottery in and of itself has finally found itself in the highest court of the land, the SCA. The SCA warned interested parties that it is likely to pronounce a judgment on the matter that will impact the betting industry nationally and invited interested parties that ostensibly wish to make their own cases to formally express their interest to the court during 2023. This led to a flood of interest from the broader gambling industry from around the country, result- ing in the SCA directing that parties formally lodge motions with it by the end of August 2024. At the time of publication these motions have all been accepted and filed and the case is expected to progress in the second half of 2026. It remains expected that this will be a critical case for the future of the betting industry, as betting on the outcome of lotteries has become popular and a good source of revenue for operators. Land-Based Stagnation Land-based casinos remain in steady free-fall in terms of interest by walk-in punters, and almost all large ter- restrial casino groups appear to be focusing their mar- keting and efforts on their online betting sites, offered under the auspices of bookmaker licences where they offer casino-style games online. Terrestrial Low Denomination/Low Payout Machines These continue to demonstrate stable growth with occasional new sites and licences emerging.
debated National Gambling Amendment Bill and the 2024 Remote Gambling Bill (which would introduce licensing for interactive gambling) have both failed to advance. Policymakers are now exploring a commit- tee bill from the DTIC (Department of Trade, Industry and Competition) Portfolio Committee. Meanwhile, regulatory innovation is happening at the provincial level. Overall, the market’s future hinges not only on manag- ing its expansion through intelligent and harmonised regulation as opposed to draconian or prohibitionist measures, but on correcting misinterpretations of legal authority and maintaining a balance between commercial opportunity, constitutional clarity, and The Western Cape regulator remains the only signifi- cant one offering online-only bookmaker licences on demand, although the Eastern Cape Gambling Board opened itself for on demand applications over the last year. The author previously reported that the Western Cape regulator, the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, was struggling with delays in the technical compliance process and whilst a long awaited and welcomed increase in its staff quantity has brought some respite, the technical compliance process may still prove frustrating for some in getting new content to market. consumer protection. Technical Challenges In addition, there have been reports of increasing frus- trations in terms of technical compliance approvals and processes in the other major “online regulator”, the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator (MER). This remains partly a product of the outdated and somewhat archaic and inadequate national certifica- tion standards applicable to gambling technologies, the SANS1718 suite of standards. It is ever more apparent that reform and a revamp of the overarching national technical standards are dramatically required in order to evolve the approach to new games and content to an international standard. Progress appears very slow on this front.
430 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook