Mbeki Dragging
His Feet Re Online Gambling Bill
July 16 - In May this year, we published a story reporting on
how South Africa was going to become one of the few
forward-thinking countries in the world today, that have been
wise enough to legalise and regulate online gambling.
Over two months AGO, South African parliament approved the
South African National Gambling Amendment Bill, a
long-awaited piece of legislation that would allow the
government to regulate and tax online gambling, and allow South
Africans to gamble online legally.
All that was required was the signature of our illustrious
President, to make the bill official, and put South Africa - if
only for a brief moment - on the same level as many of the
online gambling-friendly countries, most of which are first
world countries.
But alas, in a country where increasingly nothing is what it
seems, the South African National Gambling Amendment Bill
remains unsigned. Perhaps the reason is that President Mbeki
cannot concentrate on anything other than his unfathomable
loyalty and/or friendship to the deranged Zimbabwean President.
Who knows what thoughts are swimming around his allegedly
whisky-soaked brain. All we know is that when or if he signs off
the South African National Gambling Amendment Bill, the South
African National Gambling Board will be in a position to
implement and enforce the legislature.
Although South African online gambling fans are currently free
to gamble online, by being legalised and regulated, the South
African online gambling industry as a whole will benefit because
the prevention of problem and underage gambling will be a focus,
as will fraud and money laundering.
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