With the legalization of online gambling spreading throughout the world, there’s a need to keep residents of some countries better informed about the current online betting laws that exist in their region. At some point down the road, it’s reasonable to assume online gambling will reach even the most remotes areas due to the long arm of the internet. In this article, South African residents will be given an update on the current disposition of legal online gambling in their region. This information is not intended to promote online gambling but instead to only inform.
The laws regarding online gambling in South Africa are quite similar to the laws that existed in the US up until just a few short years ago. It’s complicated. Technically, South African residents are prohibited from gambling online. That includes not having access to any of the online gambling sites they might find at newbettingsites.uk or anywhere else. With that said, the practical application of the law is quite different.
The fact is there are South African residents who use online gambling sites operating out of Europe, mostly the UK. They can access these sites because there’s no realistic and efficient way for the government to prevent its residents from doing what they want to do on the internet. The government has to count on two barriers to minimize the number of people who technically break the law.
Remember, no South African resident has ever been charged or prosecuted for playing online casino games. It’s simply not practical. The government in the US took the same approach, knowing full well there weren’t enough law enforcement resources to go after the folks who were gambling with offshore casinos and bookmakers.
As for the aforementioned barriers, the first one would be the online gambling sites in other countries respecting the wishes of the South African government. For the most part, a great number of the most reputable online gambling sites do restrict South African residents from accessing its websites. This is done by restricting certain IP addresses and requiring proof of residence when the gambler opens an account. Unfortunately, there are sites that toe the line of impropriety and let South African gamblers have access to its sites. Even worst, they do so without much chance of repercussions unless they are being governed by top regulatory bodies like the Malta Gaming Authority or UK Gambling Commission.
The other barrier falls under the control of credit card companies. Credit card companies are restricted from processing transactions between South African residents and online gambling sites. In this case, the government does have the ability to levy serious repercussions on any credit card company that doesn’t comply with the government’s laws. If a gambler has no way to fund an account, they won’t be able to gamble. This barrier has teeth.
With all this said, there are ways around everything. If South African gamblers are intent on gambling online, they will find a way. However, they will do so without the protection of their own government should they encounter a rogue online gambling provider who cheats them.
