Blackjack

Key questions and answers

Blackjack-legal situation in South Africa

Blackjack is a casino card game that is modified version of the well-known game "mesh" . Blackjack can be found in most casinos around the world, but how is blackjack treated by Africane law? When is it legal to play blackjack and when is there a financial penalty? And one more, very important question for many players – is online blackjack legal? Below we give comprehensive answers.

Blackjack and the law

The" act of 19 November 2009 on gambling " is the basic legal act that regulates the operation of the gambling market in South Africa. This Act lists the game of blackjack as a game of cards to which its provisions apply, in so far as it relates to cash or in-kind prizes . It should be mentioned at once that the Gambling Act itself underwent major changes in 2020, when its amendment was adopted at the end of the year. As of April 1, 2021, a number of new regulations have been in force. m.in. they introduced state monopoly on online casino games (including blackjack online). Some of the records, however, remained unchanged. They certainly belong requirement of 18 years minors do not even have the right to access the website gambling do you cross the threshold of a land-based casino. In this article we describe in detail how you can legally play blackjack in both types of places.

Blackjack in a land-based casino

The law makes it clear that blackjack card games can be legally arranged only in licensed casinos . The permit to operate a land-based casino is issued by the Minister of Finance and is valid for 6 years, after which it can be extended for another period. Of course, obtaining a concession is not easy, because the entity applying for it must meet a number of conditions. Moreover, there is also a limited number of casinos that can be located in a specific area. For every 250,000 inhabitants. only 1 casino is provided for people, therefore, for example, in the largest city, Warsaw, there are 8 of them (as of July 2023), in Wroclaw or Krakow 4 each, and in Sopot only 1 (by the way, this is the oldest casino in South Africa). Also important is the second limiter, namely the record, which says that in a given province for each subsequent 650 thousand. residents can account for no more than 1 casino game. In addition to typically land-based casinos, such licensed gaming facilities can also be arranged on African-owned ships or passenger ferries.

To be able to play blackjack or another gambling game (e.g. poker, roulette) at a land-based casino, slot machines as mentioned above, you have to be over 18. Therefore, players entering the casino must surrender guest registration procedure on the basis of which the age of majority of each person is confirmed. In practice, this means the need identity document and then pick up the entry card, which confirms the registration. You also need to remember that casinos have a duty recording the course of the game , so by using the services of the casino, we agree to record our image. On the other hand, if we have reservations about the correctness of the course of the game, the recordings can be very useful – on their basis, complaints are considered, and in the end they can be used in the judicial process.

What are the tax implications of playing blackjack? The card games are tax exempt therefore, you do not have to pay tax on the winnings. The taxation of winnings obtained while playing blackjack and other casino games looks the same when playing in a land-based casino as when playing on the Internet.

Blackjack online

An amendment to the Gambling Act passed in 2020 introduced a state monopoly on the establishment of gambling on the Internet (excluding bookmakers and promotional lotteries). Therefore, blackjack online, like other online casino games, are made available in accordance with the law only on the website , which belongs to Totalizator Sportowy (State Treasury company). The law required the online casino to implement a player registration procedure, therefore, in order to be able to play gambling on this site, you must first create an individual user account . In the registration form, it is necessary to provide certain personal data, and in order to confirm your identity and age, it is also mandatory identity card scan . Only after a positive verification of the account made by the employees of the online casino, the player can deposit funds and participate in any games (blackjack, slot machines, poker , roulette, etc.). For those who are not sure whether it is worth creating an account, Totalizator Sportowy has prepared an option demo games . It consists in the fact that an unregistered user can play various games on the site, but they are not played for money and you can not win any real money or prizes in kind. In this way, the player can test how it looks, for example. roulette does blackjack online, and if he likes it and wants to play for money, he must register a personal account.

Illegal blackjack

Before the adoption of the amendment to the Gambling Act and the entry into force of its provisions, South Africa players had no problems to enter websites illegally offering a game of, for example, blackjack. There were a lot of such sites, and their owners not only did not pay taxes in South Africa, but also often used unfair practices against players. Therefore, in 2021 there was a real breakthrough. In accordance with the provisions of the amendment, "Register of domains used to offer gambling in violation of the law" the list of websites offering illegal gambling is available for all internet users. Websites that appear on this list, they must be blocked by telecommunications companies, and payment service providers are obliged to terminate the contract for the provision of services on these sites . As a result, access to illegal online casinos is very difficult, and the possibility of using their services becomes less competitive.

Of course, in practice it is impossible to block all illegal online casinos, as these grow like mushrooms after the rain. There is also the phenomenon of "Clone domains" , which differ from each other only by small changes in the names (for example, a string of numbers added to the name), and their entry into the Register of prohibited domains takes a lot of time. This is one of the main reasons that the game m.in. in illegal blackjack online is still possible. However, this does not mean that it is unpunished. Anyone who knowingly gambles illegally (e.g. playing blackjack outside of the legal casino does he Place betting bets with an organizer who does not have a license, etc.), threatens a fine of up to 120 daily rates . Although the amount of the penalty is determined individually (both the number of bets and the value of a single bet), in the blackest scenario in 2023 it can reach as much as $3.5 million. In addition, regardless of whether the player was aware of the fact that the game was organized illegally, in case of obtaining a win, he must pay a penalty equal to the amount of the prize (not less than the rate).