Gambling online may become legal in South Africa

Online gambling was banned in South Africa in 2004 with the passage of the National Gambling Act. However, back then the Trade Minister, Mandisi Mpahlwa, received 2 years to draw up a legal frame for the online gambling industry.

The South African offline gambling industry has been on the downfall for a while, and now a draft to the bill has been scheduled for a vote, and everyone is certain the bill will pass. The Amendment would regulate gambling on the Internet in a similar to the U.K. approach. The only factor that has not yet been determined is how will the new taxes be imposed, and how much would they be. And the taxes from the online gambling licenses are the main reason this amendment to the gambling bill will be passed. With estimates predicting that web gambling revenue would reach over $30 billion by 2011 - that would be a good chunk of money for the government of the country.

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