Current Gambling Law Clauses In South Africa Suspended for one year while considering public comments for the new gambling bill.( Image by Carl Raw on Unsplash)
Clauses in the present gambling law have been declared by the Western Cape High Court as invalid for one year while considering public comments for the new gambling bill to usher in a new policy.
According to reports from Cape Times, Tsogo Holdings, a casino operator in South Africa has submitted an application to the court for relief to amend its Mykonos and Caledon casino licenses to permit them to run in the Cape Metropole.
While responding to the inquiry, the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board, also responsible for some South Africa live casino regulations, stated that it was incompetent to consider an application to relocate Western Cape casino operator licenses. The board also stated expressed further aversions that the relief which Tsogo Holdings seek can result in cannibalism in the industry because it will affect metropole-based GrandWest Casino.
Furthermore, the board also explained that it is not permitted for any operator to apply for a license amendment to substitute one premise for the other. Similarly, the provincial government asserts that there is another reason why the application submitted by Tsogo Holdings must not succeed. The reason is that currently, the Western Cape Act does not allow an existing casino to be relocated from one location to the other via amendment of the license conditions. The document reads that a new license that specifies the new location is required.
Statement From a Respondent
Speaking on the high court matter, a respondent Premier Winde stated that:
The city will not take up the matter on appeal. He took note of the result in the matter on the 2nd of July 2021 and that the judgment has proclaimed the policy invalid but has suspended the declaration of invalidity for a year to give room for a new gambling regulatory policy.
A newly proposed gambling bill has already been published such that public comments are now being taken into consideration and this judgment will also be considered when finalizing the bill in due course. Winde noted that the city has decided not to take the matter on appeal after considering it.
Last year, there was a public hearing regarding the 19th Gambling and Racing Amendment Bill in the Western Cape where it was stated that the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board is faced with a funding shortfall for the current year. Because the board recorded a loss in the exclusivity fee which gambling machines and live casino operators paid, it had to rely heavily on transfer sums from the Provincial Treasury that was faced with dire cuts in spending. The amendments are aimed at ensuring that gambling was appropriately regulated and that the regulatory body had an independent revenue source to make sure that it was self-sufficient.
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