Illegal gambling establishments are exposed

BURGERSFORT – Online gamblers can face sentences of up to 10 years, fines up to R10 million or both, if convicted. The reality is that many people simply do not know that online gambling is illegal in South Africa.

Two illegal online-gambling venues in town have been verified by the Casino Association of South Africa (Casa). These illegal establishments form part of a criminal industry that is growing by the day while locals do not realise the negative impact they have.

Online gambling is any game that’s being played on the Internet where you pay something of value (i.e. place a bet) at the risk of losing it, but in the hope of winning something in return. The outcome of that bet is also determined by the Internet, like a virtual slot machine.

All forms of online gambling are illegal The only exception is sports betting, provided that it is conducted with a licensed operator.

Investigations into illegal online gambling are underway throughout Limpopo. These are carried out by the SAPS and the Limpopo Gambling Board with the support and active assistance of Casa.

“Casa confirms that investigations have also commenced in the Burgersfort area and at least three illegal online-gambling establishments have been reported of which we have verified two, Cyber-Net Entertainment located in Morone Shopping Centre and Internet Cafe located in the Obaro Centre,” said Mr Themba Ngobese, CEO of Casa.

These two premises share the same characteristics in that they disguise themselves as Internet cafes or entertainment lounges, unlike legitimate Internet cafes. They have large dark windows or non-visible back rooms and access to these buildings is strictly monitored and controlled. Usually, there are surveillance cameras and employees manning the entrance.

Steelburger/Lydenburg News visited both venues on July 6 and 7 to verify whether they had gambling licences issued by the Limpopo Gaming Board or whether they were operating illegally. Journalists pretended to be regular customers. “We paid a minimum of R50 to gamble. They use touch-screen computers, there are no keyboards so you are unable to access Google, while legitimate Internet cafes have keyboards. Both venues feature different gambling slots on every touch-screen computer, where you can choose your game,” said a Steelburger/Lydenburg News journalist.

Continuing the investigation on July 7 another of the newspaper’s journalists visited both premises again, this time identifying herself as a journalist.

While right of admission was denied, she spoke to employees outside the buildings. They were asked whether the establishment had a gambling licence. Both employees gave the exact same answer. They only worked there, they did not know and the media had to speak to the owners. Cyber-Net Entertainment has 31 touch-screen computers and Internet Café has 44.

According to Section 40 of the Limpopo Gambling Act, 2013, a licence holder must at all times prominently display the licence on site. During the visits of the journalists,no licences were visible.

Internet Café has signs that no under 18s are allowed. Legitimate Internet cafés have no age restrictions and children are allowed to browse the Internet to obtain information for school projects.

According to Mr Serobi Maja, chief executive officer of Limpopo Gambling Board, Steelburger/Lydenburg News, as good citizens of the community, is obliged to expose these illegal operators.

Serobi also gave the assurance that the law-enforcement unit together with the SAPS would attend to this matter in due course.

The Limpopo Gambling Act, 2013 states that gambling activities are effectively regulated and controlled to limit the potential socioeconomic impact on the community; society and the economy are protected against overstimulation of the gambling industry and it in turn contributes to the growth and development of tourism, employment opportunities and the economy.

“Businesses that promote illegal gambling suppress economic and social growth in the community. Unlike legal casinos they do not pay gambling tax, corporate tax nor VAT. In the year ended March 2014 alone, the legal casino industry paid R4,5 billion in taxes in total. They do not contribute towards community infrastructure investments, whereby the legal casino industry has invested in excess of R30 billion in infrastructure alone, no contributions towards the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) are made in the sense of creating sustainable and decent employment opportunities, also no contributions are made towards corporate social investment (CSI) and these places are major contributors to problem gambling.This is based on research conducted by the National Responsible Gambling Programme (NRGP),” added Ngobese.

“I gambled at both venues before, but have never won. I did not know that these places were illegal. The employees seemed so friendly and helpful. While I was there I saw some respectable people from the community also busy gambling,” said Ms Marietjie van der Merwe, a Burgersfort resident.

“The municipality was not aware of these illegal establishments, but we give our full cooperation to the Limpopo Gambling Board to take the necessary legal action to close them down. We absolutely do not support these venues in the Greater Tubatse district. We urge citizens to stay away and not to support these illegal operators. Locals who visit and participate will also be apprehended when the Limpopo Gambling Board Law Enforcement Unit together with SAPS attend to these illegal establishments. We have a lovely new and legal casino at Thaba Moshate. Citizens must rather enjoy themselves within the law,” said Mr Thabiso Mokoena, spokesman for Greater Tubatse Municipality.

There is absolutely no guarantee that the player’s winnings will be paid out and should a dispute arise, there is no legal channels that can be pursued.

To report suspected illegal online gambling, contact the Limpopo Gambling Board on 015-230-0300 or email

ceo@lgb.org.za.