Concur I am not able to register with
888 Poker actually by and large any of the "common wealth" (read UK accredited) poker rooms.
williamhill,
partypoker, coral and encore, bet365 etc
Before I continue the usual disclaimers apply, I am not a lawyer nor do I have authority to give legal advice nor is this my intent. These are purely my interpretation based on observation and you must take it at your own discretion. I cannot be held responsible nor accountable for any damages or prosecution resulting from your action or inaction based on this information. The information is public knowledge and available at other sources I am not trying to aid or abet any illegal activity nor is my interest and knowledge on the topic an admission of guilt in any way. As far as I am aware I am not breaking any law.
The National
gambling act 1996 opened the doors for anything more than the previously allowed horse betting. This lead to a wildfire as small shop front owner on every corner in every town converted into mini
casinos with as many slot machines as you can fit.
Obviously this was not the plan and the
National Gambling Act, 2004 (Act No. 7 of 2004) came to be which clammed down to allow only "select license holders" in "specially zoned locations", the privilege which accomplished the plan with a select few large casino destinations spread over the country. The bill specifically made it illegal to provide gaming services to citizens.
In part this is why certain poker rooms/casinos do not offer their services in our country. The ones that do probably feel they are not under our jurisdiction and therefor aren't doing anything wrong.
The
National Gambling Act, 2004 (Act No. 7 of 2004) does not however provision for online gaming nor does it stipulate poker per se but some may argue that enough legalese exist to still motivate for its inclusion. It does not however place any restriction on the citizen, the gambler, which is in actual fact whom it is motivated to protect by the legislation. Take note this is the current passed legislation although propaganda may lead you to believe otherwise.
Local operators started online services hosted off shore to exploit this loophole in the legislation while the National gambling act 2008 gets drafted to legalize online gambling. This quickly finds opposition from
hands in the cookie jar which leads to an impromptu High court ruling that outright bans online gaming and then some.
The National gambling amendment act 2008 results which outlaws both operating as well as making use of online gambling services. Any service provider, landlord, venue, network, broadcast that facilitates or promotes these services with or without knowledge or consent will be held accountable. It stipulates a maximum penalty of R10M or 10 years, confiscating property and banks will be instructed to withheld winnings as a result from gambling being funneled 100% to state coffers... *cough* the cookie jar. Least it to say this ruling and legislation still resides in appeal court to date.
Meanwhile the original bill to legislate online gaming has been crossed and dotted and said to appear in front of parliament which opens this month(Feb 2015). Naturally this threat woke the same opposing parties who started with new vigour to deploy... uhm... their original tactics!?! Propaganda is being spread in a drive for public awareness with scare tactics threatening as per the High court ruling of 2008, which is still under appeal, as if it is law already.
In 7 years this is the best they can come up with... TIA! (this is Africa)
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_in_South_Africa
http://www.fin24.com/Tech/News/Warning-issued-to-SAs-online-gamblers-20150119
http://www.casasa.org.za/campaign-read/
