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Just a quick follow-up on our post regarding South Africa’s recent court ruling banning online casinos.

Two of the better known South African facing net casinos, including the one contesting the court case in question have decided to close their doors to South African players.

Both websites are issuing messages to this effect on their websites currently.

From Piggs Peak…

“As you are aware we lost our application in the Pretoria High Court regarding the legality of South Africans playing on our Swaziland licensed internet casino which has serious implications for South African players. We are in the process of applying for leave to appeal the judgement and felt that we could continue operating in the interim. We have since been advised that we should stop operating for South African players.”

And from Silver Sands…

“In accordance with the recent Northern Gauteng High Court ruling regarding online gambling in South Africa, Silver Sands has made the decision to exclude South African players from participating in our games until there is more clarity regarding the legality of gaming in cyberspace for South African citizens. We have closed down all gaming related services for South African players.”

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Playtech boss Mor Weizer has talked optimistically about prospects to re-enter the US market.

Of course this would be great news for US players wanting to play live games, given current options are limited and Playtech have a cracking live games platform.

Weizer said that, “The timing is not clear but we see a genuine and positive momentum [towards the regulation of online gambling]…We see a lot of interest from operators in the U.S., and we are in discussions with various local groups.”

He didn’t mention who any of those ‘local groups’ were, but you’d have to think some of the US terrestrial casino majors like MGM Grand, Penn National and Las Vegas Sands would be among them.  Imagine, the Sands brand and financial clout, powered by Playtech’s live games.  Dare say it would be a better option than Betphoenix (sorry guys).

Still plenty of water to flow under the bridge before any of this happens.

Related pages: US Regulatory Outlook

There was a court ruling in South Africa last week that has ruffled quite a few feathers in the online casino industry.

On Friday the North Gauteng High Court ruled that offshore/unlicensed online gambling operators were prohibited from operating in South Africa, reaffirming the long held view of the Gauteng Gambling Board (GGB) – one of the parties to the case being adjudicated.  The other party was the Swiss based operator of Piggs Peak online casino which has been marketing its product pretty aggressively across South Africa for some time including TV ads staring Dolph Lundgren (I think it’s his first gig since playing Ivan Drago in Rocky III).

Piggs Peak also got the National Gambling Board involved in proceedings which is why the court’s ruling extends beyond Gauteng’s provincial borders to include the whole country.  The ruling prohibits unlicensed offshore operators from offering their product and extends to ISPs carrying the product and media agencies advertising it within South Africa.  Heavy penalties apply to those flouting the law and the GGB has now threatened to pursue and prosecute  offenders.

The GGB are cocka-hoot about the outcome and have wasted no time in getting a media release up on their site explaining that online gambling in South Africa is now prohibited.  They have also called on the Reserve Bank to instruct all banks to start blocking online gambling transactions ala America’s UIGEA.

Amid the hundreds of Internet news headlines proclaiming “online gambling is banned in South Africa” a couple of points of clarification and further explanation are perhaps needed.

All online gambling?

The first point is that the scope of the decision was confined to interactive games…that is, online poker and casino games.  South Africans wanting an online  flutter with fixed odds sportbooks or pari-mutuel wagering operators, fear not nothing has changed.  Of course if the GGB did manage to convince the Reserve Bank on the payment blocking idea banks may be a little confused as to whether sportsbetting and wagering transactions should be blocked (which is precisely why the request would never be seriously entertained by the Reserve Bank).

When does the ruling take effect?

The thing here is that Piggs Peak are appealing the decision to a higher court.  So it will be many months, more likely years before a final ruling is handed down.  The court’s ruling is an interpretation of the GGB Gambling Act and National Gambling Act so the GGB and other provincial regulators may feel they have cause to prosecute based on legislative provisions alone, but with legal process continuing and a final decision pending operators like Piggs Peak and Silver Sands will no doubt keep operating.

Weren’t online gambling licenses on their way?

Yes, and they still are.  About about a year ago a delegation from the SA’s National Gambling Board visited the I-gambling regulators over in Antigua Barbuda to, “understudy their detailed policy and regulatory framework before implementation of our legislation”, (NBG CEO Mmathebe Thebi Moja).

A licensing and regulatory regime for online casino operators is on its way and may well be up and running before a final appellate decision is reached in Piggs Peak V GGB.

The Honourable Judge NB Tuchten said in his ruling that operators currently contravening the prohibition, “may not be suitable to hold an online gambling licence when South Africa invites application for online gambling licence”…a nice way of saying to Piggs Peak, just go away for the time being and come back when we’re ready for you.

Clearly Piggs Peak aren’t content to go away for the time being and would rather duke it out with the authorities.

So where does this all leave players and operators in South Africa?  As is so often the case with online gambling…who the hell knows?!

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Related pages: Live casinos for South African players

Hope you've found a buff buddy to take Gladis!

Gladis from the UK!

Well done and hope you enjoy your week in Miami.

Gladis came home like a wet sail. Nowhere to be seen on the leaderboard with three weeks to go, check out his action in the last 3 weeks of the tournament…

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Smart Live Casino review

Visit Smart Live

The last time the government of Costa Rica unveiled plans to start taxing gambling operators the operators threatened to walk on-mass.

So it was back to the drawing board.  But not deterred they’re come up with a new proposed tax regime that they hope will be a little more palatable.

Under the new arrangement a Gambling Control Board will be set up to issue licenses and monitor adherence to regulations.  The GCB will be governed by a council that will be chaired by the Minister of Interior and Police.

All gambling operators will be slugged 0.5% of gross income to help fund the GCB, an additional 15% of gross income will be paid by land based casinos and a flat $50,000 (US) annual fee  is to be levied on the online operators.

While the government seems to be terrified of driving operators away they are also keen to raise revenue that they say is urgently needed to fight crime across the country.

Any moves toward tighter regulations have to be welcomed although you do have to worry about a regulatory authority that is so concerned with appeasing its licensees.

The August 28 giveaway cash allocations

It’s live games giveaway time again at bet265.

Play any of their live casino games this coming Saturday (28th) and all turnover will earn you leader board  points.

The usual $10 grand is up for grabs for the top 200 players, as indicated left.

Just remember, you MUST OPT-IN to be eligible.  So if you’re intending to play there over the weekend anyway make sure you do opt in and you’re a very good chance to end up with some more cash in your account.

Read our bet365 review

Visit bet365

We spend a lot of time playing at various Evolution casinos at all hours of the day and night and there’s someone who we see there almost every session we play.  And she’s not a dealer.

She’s about 5 ft tall, wears a white shirt, has short brown hair and works her vacuum cleaner across the floor of the dealer studio like a woman possessed.

She’s perpetual motion.  She never pauses for a rest.  She has the vigor and energy of that lady in ‘There’s Something About Mary’ vacuuming her apartment on speed combined with the care and precision of a surgeon. She’s without a shadow of doubt the hardest working cleaning lady in Latvia…quite possibly the world.

If BP had let here loose in the Gulf of Mexico their spill would have been cleaned up in a couple of weeks.

But as good as she is at her profession, I can’t help but wonder whether she harbors any ambitions to swap the vacuum cleaner for a deck of cards?

…

…

I caught the news today that a new live casino had launched.

In somewhat of a first, a UK based bricks and mortar casino is now streaming games from their tables (ala Fitzwilliam/Vuetec).  The casino is the Palace Casino in Great Yarmouth.

Keen to get a look at the games (and the inside of the casino!) I registered a playing account, logged in and clicked on the big button that said “LIVE BLACKJACK – PLAY NOW”…

The game loaded and this is what I was presented with…

You know how you feel when you order a burger at some fast food restaurant because the picture looks so inviting but then you get served a soggy, toppled over, miniature version of inedible crap that looks absolutely nothing like the picture?

That’s kind of how I felt.

I don’t like to be picky, but I’d prefer it if the game load button said something like …

In a PR Newswire release on the casinos launch, MD Patrick Duffy had this to say about the new live online casino:

“This is no life like game but the real deal with a person can play at the table in the casino whilst a family member can play the same game on their laptop or computer at home and then the player can leave the casino and continue to pick up this same game at home. Not only are people assured of being UK controlled and regulated but the fact that other members in the casino are playing those same games puts clear water between this and any other online operation.”

To be honest I’m not exactly sure what he means by this.  But it is good to see a UK based (and UK Gambling Commission licensed) casino finally streaming games online.

We’ll be sure to pop back and get a better look soon!

In the meantime, if you’re looking for 24/7 playing options, try our live blackjack page.

The United States has its bible and rust belts, Australia has the wheat belt, Africa the bean belt and India the Hindi belt.

Now Canada has the online casino belt.

It’s not quite fitted just yet.  There are a couple more notches to be added but it does look very much like every one of Canada’s US-bordering provinces from East to West will have government operated online casinos within the next few years.  One is already up, a couple more are fait accomplis and the rest are going through the research, consideration and PR spin mode that seems to proceed finally going ahead with a politically contentious undertaking like net gaming.

The belt is closing…

British Columbia was the first domino to fall with the launch last month of the BCLC run PlayNow online casino.

The Ontario government declared their hand soon after with concrete plans announced by Ontario Lottery and Gaming chairman Paul Godfrey to get an online casino up and running by 2012.

Quebec has been quietly beavering away and will launch a service initially offering online poker and sports betting as early as September this year!  According to Loto-Québec CEO Alain Cousineau, their product will offer locals an alternative to operators that are, “illegal, unregulated and often of doubtful integrity.” He went on to tell CBC Canada that, “This is a way for us to channel the gaming offering in a controlled circuit and environment whose integrity will be beyond reproach.”

Not wanting to miss out on the party the smaller provinces have indicated they will likely follow suite…

Saskatchewan‘s Minister for Gaming, Ken Cheveldayoff told CBC his government was “very interested” in entering the online gambling space following Ontario’s announcement. It is something they are, “cautiously looking at” he said.

Alberta‘s government has, “definitely been researching and monitoring online gaming for a number of years.”  So says Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission spokesperson Lynn Hutchings-Mah.  She also noted that traditional gaming revenues in the province had declined 15% since the GFC took hold so additional sources would be welcomed.

Manitoba has been mulling the online gambling question since April.  Back then Minister for Lotteries Steve Ashton told Global Winnipeg :

“We’re looking at it. No decision has been made yet, but I anticipate a decision sometime over the next few months,”

This may not sound overly conclusive, but when you consider what’s transpired since April you’d forgive Manitoba for getting swept up in the stampede mentality that seems to have gripped their neighboring provinces.

Why the sudden change of policy?

The online casino industry isn’t new.  It’s actually deep into its second decade so you’d be forgiven for wondering why, after 15 or 16 years Canadian governments have all of a sudden, with the unison of a Beach Boys harmony, become so hot on net gambling?

The answer lies in one word, or rather acronym…GFC.

Nothing moderates the political moral compass more than a bit of fiscal pain.