Online gambler in fight to get stake

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File photo

Published Apr 13, 2013

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Johannesburg - A Joburg man has taken on the National Gambling Board to get back the money he spent online.

Online gambling is illegal in South Africa, but the man, who won a total of R60 000 on a UK betting site, wants the R20 000 back he had used to play.

But it is unlikely that the man, who cannot be named, will receive his money back, because the board says his winnings were forfeited and placed in a trust account as stipulated by the National Gambling Act of 2004.

The trust account, which is controlled by the Treasury, currently contains more than R3.5 million which has been forfeited by illegal online gamblers, with the majority of the money forfeited by under-age gamblers.

Baby Tyawa, National Gambling Board chief executive, says the increase in the number of internet users, coupled with the growing confidence of consumers in conducting online transactions, have led to a greater number of people engaging in online gambling.

About 10.5 percent of all South Africans, or 4.59 million people, have access to the internet, more than a third of them aged between 18 and 29. The country has 5.3 million personal computer users, making up 11 percent of the total population.

Tyawa warns that anyone found guilty of involvement in online gambling could be jailed for up to 10 years, or face a stiff penalty of R10 000, or both sentences imposed simultaneously.

“Any form of unlicensed online gambling in South Africa is expressly prohibited and is a criminal offence. Those found to be contravening the act face imprisonment or a hefty fine. This prohibition also applies to unlicensed online bingo operations and similar criminal sanctions may apply.

“When dealing with these various forms of internet gambling, one must not ignore the socio- economic effect that this modern form of gambling has on the general society. Most sites rely on the correctness of the information given by the would-be gambler, without making other verification checks such as ID number and telephonic voice recognition to verify the intending gambler’s identity. This state of affairs has led to the theft of credit cards and the theft of the use of credit cards where an underage player unlawfully uses their parent’s credit cards to create accounts for the use of an e-gambling site,” Tyawa added.

She said that in addition to it being illegal, the easy and accessible manner in which internet gambling was provided was a serious concern as it had created a new group of pathological gamblers attracted by the easy access, the high-speed instant gratification of internet gambling games, and their offer of a high level of privacy. Left unregulated, the problem of pathological gambling will worsen.

One of the big issues for the board is that many South Africans were not aware that online gambling was illegal.

South Africans are only allowed to gamble at licensed outlets.

“Yes, it is an issue for us, because many people tell us that they were not aware. We will intensify our information campaigns to educate people.”

Tyawa says the gambling board has now formed partnerships with all major banks, as well as the UK Gambling Commission, to monitor South Africans who place bets or gamble online.

“In late 2011, we reached an agreement with the UK Commission to monitor South Africans on UK sites and to ensure that those sites flash messages which warn users to make sure that online gambling is legal in their countries.

“We also work closely with banks who monitor transactions and hold back payments from people to gambling companies online.”

Tyawa says the Joburg man was the first to try to get his money back.

Pretoria News Weekend

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