Area of Law
Jurisdiction – internet; South African Gambling Laws.

Summary
The Appellant appealed against Tuchten J’s judgment (Casino Enterprises (Pty) Ltd (Swaziland) v Gauteng Gambling Board and Others [2011] 1 All SA 305 (GNP) which determined that the activities of an online casino based outside of South Africa, offering online gambling to players within South Africa and that didn’t hold a South African gambling license, contravened the Gauteng Gambling Act and the National Gambling Act.

Instead of deciding the issue based on where the gamble is electronically generated (as was dealt with in Tuchten’s judgment) the SCA looks at exactly what it means to gamble. Heher JA (Ponnan, Seriti JJA, Plasket and Petse AJJA concurring) held that gambling takes place where the wager is made therefore, in this scenario, the wager is made in South Africa. In order to make a wager in South Africa, the Casino needs to be licensed in terms of South African Gambling legislation. Due to the fact that Casino Enterprises (Piggs Peak) does not hold a license to operate a Casino in South Africa, the gambling services offered are unlicensed and thus unlawful.

Therefore the appeal is DISMISSED.

Importance/ Value
A Casino which is not based in South Africa and is not licensed in terms of South African Gambling laws, i.e. Piggs Peak, may not offer online gambling facilities to patrons located in South Africa.

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