{"id":631253,"date":"2026-02-27T12:07:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T10:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=631253"},"modified":"2026-02-27T12:09:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T10:09:21","slug":"online-gambling-in-south-africa-banned-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/internet\/631253-online-gambling-in-south-africa-banned-again.html","title":{"rendered":"Online gambling in South Africa banned again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The National Gambling Board (NGB) has put Provincial Licensing Authorities on notice, instructing them to crack down on companies offering online gambling services in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe National Gambling Board has issued a formal notice to all Provincial Licensing Authorities clarifying the regulatory status of remote gambling in South Africa,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe notice provides guidance on compliance obligations in respect of remote gambling infrastructure and applicable technical standards.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sports betting platforms in South Africa have been using their provincial gambling licences to offer online casino games like slots, roulette, and blackjack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was despite the National Gambling Board repeatedly warning that the only legal form of online gambling in South Africa was betting on events like sports matches and horse racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, online gambling operators believe they have side-stepped the restriction by arguing that they merely offer betting on the outcomes of casino games, similar to betting on events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This latest move from the NGB follows fierce debate after a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling, which held that bookmakers may not offer roulette games in Gauteng unless they also carry a casino licence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the NGB, the judgment effectively banned<\/a> online sports betting services from offering casino games through their platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, online gambling platforms have argued that the NGB was mistaken<\/a> and that the scope of the ruling was limited to Gauteng and roulette games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NGB has held firm that interactive and remote gambling remain unlawful in South Africa, except where explicitly authorised by national legislation. For example, the NGB agrees that sports betting is legal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It quoted the National Gambling Act definition of an interactive game, which is \u201ca gambling game played or available to be played through the mechanism of an electronic agent accessed over the Internet\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is qualified as \u201can electronic agent\u2026 other than a game that can be accessed for play only in licensed premises, and only if the licensee of any such premises is authorised to make such a game available for play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the regulator, the Act makes the offering and playing of such interactive games illegal. It highlighted Section 11 of the law, which is titled \u201cUnauthorised interactive gaming unlawful\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It expressly states that \u201ca person must not engage in or make available an interactive game except as authorised in terms of this Act or any other national law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online gambling is unlawful \u2014 NGB<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lungile Dukwana, the NGB\u2019s acting CEO, said the Act has expressly prohibited interactive gambling until a legislative framework to regulate it is developed and passed by the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the board said that Remote Gambling Servers (RGS), systems designed to facilitate interactive or remote gambling, do not constitute lawful gambling systems under the current legislative framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In its notice to Provincial Licensing Authorities, the NGB emphasised a directive from the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe NGB places emphasis that the scope of technical standards that are applicable only to lawful gambling systems do not cover RGS,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpecifically, the South African National Standard SANS 1718-4:2018 (Edition 3) applies only to Wagering and Record Keeping Systems (WRS)\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said the specification does not provide for the testing or certification of Remote Gambling Servers as standalone systems. The NRCS has formally directed that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • RGS shall not be submitted for certification against SANS 1718.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The NRCS will not issue, renew, or extend Letter of Certifications (LoCs) for RGS under SANS 1718.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Any previously issued LoCs relating to RGS have lapsed or will lapse upon expiry, with no further certification activities to be undertaken.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The NRCS\u2019s directive stipulated that all its certification activities would strictly align with the National Gambling Act and the intended scope and applicability of compulsory technical standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Therefore, the National Gambling Board has issued a notice to Provincial Licensing Authorities advising them to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Align licensing and enforcement practices with the clarified legal position regarding RGS.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Prohibit the approval or continued use of RGS in licensed gambling operations in accordance with the NRCS directive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Require operators to utilise duly certified WRS compliant with SANS 1718.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Take appropriate enforcement action against non-compliant operators.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cThe NGB will monitor implementation of this notice across all provinces and will report to the Minister Trade, Industry and Competition on compliance levels, enforcement outcomes, and the broader industry impact\u201d, said Dukwana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Online gambling platforms in South Africa have been put on notice, with the National Gambling Board instructing provincial authorities to crack down on them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":616060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[92763,98658,32362],"class_list":["post-631253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-internet","tag-lungile-dukwana","tag-national-gambling-board-ngb","tag-supreme-court-of-appeal-sca"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631253"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631253"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":631254,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631253\/revisions\/631254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}