Make Up Your Mind Already
Just when you think you have seen everything in the South African online gambling industry along comes the proverbial whack up side the head. Here’s what is going on: as you know South Africa is on the edge of finally relaxing all the restrictions and outright prohibitions against online gambling. Yet, now at this late hour in the game so to speak, comes along the exact opposite of what the average South African casino fan expected.
None other than the notorious Department of Trade and Industry(DTI) just came out with what some are calling a ridiculous proposal. The DTI wants nothing less than a complete ban on all forms of online gambling. Yes, you read that correctly. The DTI came out with this head-turning proposal just recently which aims to not only completely outlaw any and all forms of online gambling, but also aims to ban any new forms of gambling such as dog racing.
At this point, this new proposal is being looked at by the National Gambling Policy Council. This Council is an organization that puts both local (provincial) and national government officials together for the purposes of discussing policies and procedures that could work for all parties involved.
Yet get this: the DTI didn’t stop there. With the release of their latest prohibition proposal, the DTI also is making the case that there are far too many electronic bingo terminals scattered throughout the country. What? What is going on with the DTI?
If you ask the DTI, you will soon discover that the department seems to believe that South Africans as a group have some sort of gambling problem. According to the deputy director of the DTI, Zodwa Ntuli along with the chief director MacDonald Netshitenzhe, the proposal just released is based on the the DTI’s considered opinion that the government had the capability to enforce the regulations in the industry.
Huh? Oh, so the very same department who says they can enforce the rules wants to implement more rules because they can make sure they are followed? What sort of logic is this? Something like a child saying you can’t play with my ball unless you play the way I say and then changing the rules in the middle of the game. Really? Is this the sort of activity you want the DTI to be engaged in?
As you can see, just when you are starting to get hopeful regarding legalization of online gambling in South Africa, along comes someone or something to spoil the party. It will be fascinating to see how this plays out.