SOUTH AFRICA Law and Practice Contributed by: Wayne Lurie, Lurie Inc
• LPM site licence – required for each establishment (pub, club, etc) hosting LPMs. It is typically limited to five machines per site (unless a special permis- sion for up to 40 in a designated gaming venue is granted under certain provincial rules). • Manufacturer, supplier or maintenance licence – for companies that manufacture gambling devices or software, or supply/maintain such equipment. A manufacturer of slot machines, for instance, needs to be licensed (or certified) to sell machines into South Africa. Similarly, suppliers of betting software or bingo equipment must be registered/ licensed. • Key employee/personal licence – while not an “operator” licence, key individuals (like general managers, financial directors of gambling opera- tions, and gaming machine technicians) often must hold personal licences or certificates. This ensures personnel in critical positions meet probity stand- ards. • National Lottery licence – granted by the NLC to one operator to conduct the National Lottery and related sports pools. It is exclusive and awarded via a competitive tender for a fixed term (currently held by Ithuba under extension, with Sizekhaya selected as the next operator pending litigation outcomes). • Charitable lottery – outside mainstream gambling, the Lotteries Act provides for societies to register small lotteries as long as they meet certain criteria. These are registrations rather than licences and are overseen by the NLC. 4.4 Availability of Licences Casino Licences (Not Readily Available) All provinces have allocated their casino licences and no new issuances are expected. One would generally have to wait for a new development zone to be author- ised or bid for a re-issuance if a licence is revoked. For practical purposes, if an investor wants a casino presence, they often must acquire an existing casino operation (subject to regulatory approval). Betting (Bookmaker) Licences (Moderately Available) Provinces such as Western Cape and Eastern Cape continue to consider new applications, though they impose high standards. However, there is no absolute
bar; entrepreneurs with strong applications can still enter the market. The author has seen new brands (including international entrants) obtain licences in recent years, indicating availability with proper com- pliance. Other provinces such as Mpumalanga or Gauteng only offer such licences on RFA with Mpu- malanga having only recently closed an RFA process for a round of new bookmaker licences. Totalisator Licences Typically one per province for horse racing and sports pools (often held by a single operator nationwide). These are quasi-exclusive and not generally open for new applicants unless the incumbent fails or the prov- ince decides to split the market. Bingo Licences (Limited Availability) A few provinces issued bingo licences in a batch (for example, North West and KwaZulu-Natal both opened bids for several bingo halls in the mid-2010s). If all allocated bingo licences are taken, new entrants must wait for an expansion of permits or acquisition. In Gauteng, bingo licences are currently capped and fully issued (with many halls operating electronic bin- go terminals). LPM Site Licences These are more commonly available since provinces are still rolling out toward their maximum allowed LPMs and sites. A qualifying site (that meets criteria like having a liquor licence, appropriate location, and security measures) can apply to host LPMs through a route operator. Availability depends on the remaining machine quota in each province. As the quotas have not been fully utilised in several provinces, many route operators continue to seek new site applicants. Route Operator Licences (Not Readily Available) Provinces usually have their route operator licensees fixed. A new route operator licence would likely only be considered if an existing one is cancelled or if the province decides to expand the programme (which would require significant justification). With the exception of certain sectors such as LPM sites and potentially additional bookmaker outlets, most gambling licence categories are in a mature state with limited new licences on offer. South Africa’s gam-
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