Online casinos – are there legal online casinos in South Africa?

Casino in South Africa-the most important questions and answers

The amendment to the Gambling Act, which entered into force on 1 April 2021, has changed a lot on the African gambling market. Revolutionary changes adopted m.in. in relation to the functioning of online casinos in South Africa, while the rules of operation of land-based casinos were left unchanged in key issues. Is online casino currently legal in South Africa, or are players left with only land-based casinos? What are the rules of legal casinos? We explain!

Online casinos-legal or not?

A real stir in the player community was caused by the introduction of the amendment state monopoly on online casinos . This means that only "Totalizator Sportowy", which is a state-owned company can arrange casino games on the Internet. While other online casino operators in African territory are operating illegally moreover, it is not even possible for any entity to obtain a permit to conduct such activities. In the meantime, with regard to online gambling services, the state monopoly has not only bookmakers and promotional lotteries.

Register of prohibited domains and online casino

The amended Gambling Act also provides for specific measures to support the fight against entities that unlawfully offer African players an online casino. Such a tool is "Register of domains used to offer gambling in violation of the law" , which was launched on July 1, 2021, Not only online bookmakers who organize betting without permission, but also sites where an illegal online casino is located, are added to the register on an ongoing basis. How does the so-called prohibited domain register work? This is a government website that is publicly available, so anyone can check on it to see if the site is listed as an illegal domain. Of course, when it comes to online casinos, such verification does not make much sense, because with the exception of online casino games hosted by Totalizator Sport, any private foreign or African online casino operating in African territory is by definition illegal.

The registry of prohibited domains, on the other hand, is linked to another mechanism, i.e. blocking access to sites in the registry for African internet users . This is possible due to the fact that internet providers are required to block these sites within 48 hours from the moment they appear in the registry and redirect the connection to the government site. The Gambling Act it also prohibits payment system providers from cooperating with the services which have been entered in the register. So if, for example, an online casino begins to appear in the Register of prohibited domains, banks and other online payment operators must terminate the agreement with them within 30 days. Such inconveniences also discourage some players from using an illegal online casino.

Illegal online casinos and penalties

Thus, the only legal online casino in South Africa is a state Casino, and in this regard, it should be remembered that all persons who in any way participate in illegal gambling are at risk of certain penalties . The highest penalties (including imprisonment) are provided for entities that organize illegal gambling, m.in. they run an illegal online casino. However, players who play at unlicensed casinos may not feel safe either. First, players who are proven to be involved in an illegal procedure must pay penalty, the value of which is equal to the amount of money won (not to mention their own money.) In addition, in the event that it is proved that the player was aware that he was playing in an illegal casino, a fine of up to 120 daily rates (in 2023, the maximum penalty is more than $3.5 million.) So the penalties can be really severe and definitely not worth the risk.

Legal online casino-game rules

First of all, there is only one legal online casino in South Africa (you have a monopoly on online casinos), but you must remember that even playing in a licensed casino is not always legal. In order to be able to legally use the gambling games offered by an online casino, you must first of all have completed 18 years. This requirement also applies, of course, to players attending land-based casinos, but also to any other person participating in gambling (e.g. bettors bookmakers).

Due to this legal provision Africane online casino offers the opportunity to play, but only after registration of a personal player account . This is the only way the online gambling operator can check whether the player is of legal age. When registering an account, you must provide your personal data, m.in. first and last name, e-mail address, date of birth, phone number or bank account number (to which the winning funds will be transferred). However, the final confirmation of the player's age is based on ID card scan whose message is mandatory. If the user does not receive a photocopy of the document, the games offered by a legal online casino will remain blocked for him.

Free online Casino

Although the Gambling Act imposes a state monopoly on online casinos, however, there is some alternative – Free online Casino . However, such games have their own serious drawback, namely these are not real money games. . Players who try their hand at them, so they do it in the name of training or just fun. It is also worth mentioning that free casino is an option that is also available on the website of the state online casino, as casino demo version for which no account registration is required. It allows you to immediately test the games offered by Africane casino online. Legal gambling for money, however, becomes available if the player decides to open an account.

Land-based casino

To begin with, it is worth recalling how the law is understood by the concept of "casino games". Casino games is a separate place, where on the basis of the approved regulations are organized:

• cylindrical games (e.g. roulette ),
• card games (e.g. poker , blackjack ),

(min. the total number of cylindrical games and card games is 4),

• dice games ,
• slot games (from 5 to 70 machines).

Unlike an online casino, a traditional casino offering gambling in the ground premises can be conducted by an entity that obtains special concession . It is granted by the Minister of Finance for a period of 6 years and must have special regulations approved by the Ministry of Finance. The Gambling Act also stipulates that the casino can only be operated by Joint-Stock Companies or limited liability companies that have their registered office in South Africa or companies whose registered office is located in the EU or EFTA (European Free Trade Association). In the latter case, it is necessary to establish a representative of the company in South Africa or to open an African branch. Companies that would like to run casino games must also meet a number of other requirements, m.in. have a share capital of at least $4 million. In contrast, the fees for issuing a license to operate a casino game in 2023 amount to a total of more than $1.5 million.

However, the number of land-based casinos in South Africa is limited . In towns whose population does not exceed 250,000. people can operate only 1 casino game, while each subsequent 250 thousand. residents means the possibility of opening another casino. In addition, for every 650,000 people in the province. residents can not operate more than 1 casino. Under certain conditions, casino games can also be found on High Seas passenger ships and passenger ferries that belong to African.

According to the provisions of the Gambling Act, every land-based casino must be equipped with "audiovisual game control system" . Thanks to its application, it is possible to control the course and manner of conducting gambling, for example, it can be determined whether the results of the game are determined correctly, whether the system of settlement of chips and cash is fair or whether the record of winnings paid out is consistent with reality. Moreover, the audio-visual signal enables the control and verification of players using the casino. Such solutions, on the one hand, strengthen the security of the players themselves, and on the other hand, support the implementation of the provisions of the law.

Online and land – based casinos-questions and answers

• What tax do you have to pay when playing at an online casino?

In accordance with the personal income tax act, all winnings that will be obtained through cylindrical games, card games, dice games and slot machines they are PIT tax exempt . Therefore, Africane online casinos, legal land-based casinos or slot machines-they all offer games in which, having received a win, you do not have to pay 10% tax on the winnings or declare in your annual PIT declaration the income achieved in this way. However, it is worth making sure that the organizer of the game gives us a written certificate of winning , so as to have the appropriate document for the needs of a possible tax inspection.

• Who can play online casino?

Africane online casino is available to all people who completed 18 years., reside in African territory and hold Africane citizenship . In order to be able to play for money at an online casino, it is also necessary to make registration of an individual player account .

• How many accounts can you have playing through a legitimate online casino?

Each individual user can have only one player account the online casino.

• Does Africane online casino allow you to play poker with other players?

No. , a legal online casino offers only poker games in which the opponent is not a live c$sheep, but a computer program.

• Is it also possible to place betting bets in an online casino?

No. , Africane online casino or land-based gaming casinos are not engaged in organizing betting. In order to be able to arrange sports betting in South Africa, you need to obtain a different type of permission from the Minister of Finance.

• How do I know if a given land-based casino game is licensed?

Information about which casino games are legal can be found on the website of the Ministry of Finance. It is there list of licensed land-based casinos locations .

• If the Africane state has a monopoly on legal online casinos in South Africa, why does the LEGAL bookmaker Betfan offer online card games (blackjack, poker, war)?

Offer created by bookmaker Betfan called "card games" they are actually card games, but virtual. An online casino involves the player playing a given game, e.g. poker, while Card games at Betfan involve betting on the results of a game in which we ourselves do not participate. So it is not a pure online casino, and combination of card games and betting . You can read more about this type of card games here .