August 31 - Online casinos, operators and gamblers are liable for prosecution under a new ruling by a South African court.
The North Gauteng High Court handed down a judgment last week, stating that anybody found contravening the law could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of R10 million.
The ruling essentially makes it illegal to gamble using digital products in South Africa.
After the court made its decision public, the Gauteng Gambling Board's head of legal services, Lucky Lukhwareni put out a statement saying: "That's why we approached the media to alert them of the judgment which makes online casino operations illegal, and if they continue we will have them arrested and fight for conviction."
The online gambling industry is now in a state of disarray as operators and punters figure out how to get around the ruling without risking prison or a hefty fine.
In a law frighteningly similar to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in the United States, the Gambling Board said that financial institutions would also be prosecuted under certain circumstances.
"Banking institutions' credit and debit cards should not be used for the payment of any gambling transactions that are illegal, and the banks reserve the right to decline processing or paying any card transactions which are suspected to be illegal gambling transactions," said the South African National Gambling Board.
As a result, a number of banks have already warned their customers not to use their credit cards for any kind of gambling, even those that are not included under the new law such as lottery tickets or sports betting.
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