Is A Mini The First Step?
Maybe so. As just about any South African online casino fan is well aware, there are serious moves afoot to finally legalize online casinos throughout the land. Better late than never, sure, but it seems to still be a long way off.
In the meantime, some forward thinking shopping malls are taking matters into their own hands. Not one, but twelve malls in KwazuluNatal have already filled out all of the required application paperwork and turned it in to the KZN Gaming and Betting Board for final approval. As you already know, the KZN Gaming and Betting Board is the gaming regulator in the country.
What’s going on here? The twelve KZN malls mentioned above have applied to the Board for what they are referring to as a “mini-casino”. These malls include such familiar names as Galleria Shopping Mall, Southcoast Mall and Liberty Midlands Mall as well as others.
The mini casinos that the malls are requesting authorization for is being evaluated by the Board. Following the standard protocol, the Board is complying with statutory requirements to publish these applications and allow a specific time period for objections to be filed. A spokesperson from the KZN treasury, Ntokozo Maphisa pointed out that “ the board is duty bound to consider any and all objections before a final decision is reached.
The bigger question that no one has addressed yet is what this is really all about. Are these malls trying to do an end run around upcoming legislation? Are they hoping to have the existing gambling laws tweaked in their favor so that they will be in effect grandfathered in once new online gambling legislation is finally passed?
That all remains to be seen of course. In the meantime, many South African online casino players eagerly await the outcome of this year’s legislative process. Perhaps it will actually work out that South African legislators will get wind of this push from the malls and this will give them the extra boost they need to go ahead with full legalization.
As any South African online casino fan will tell you, nowadays it’s no longer a question of what. Now, it really is only a matter of time. Who knows, perhaps the malls mentioned above are onto to something and just want to get in early before the market gets crowded.