| Last updated: 4:15 AM Monday May 12nd 2008 | |  | Africa |
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| | Getting to know gambling in Africa
The most amazing thing about online gambling in Africa is that it in no way reflects the social, political or economical hardships that the continent struggles with. In fact, online gambling in Africa is a lucrative and highly developed industry that has both impressed and influenced other online gambling markets around the world.
The roots of gambling in Africa date way back to the times of horse and carriage, and as such, horse-racing was the first prominent from of gambling. Poker is a game that gradually gained in popularity over the years, yet casino gambling is a relatively new way of life for Africans. It was only when the British and Afrikaaner settlers colonized South Africa in an effort to 'civilize' the country that casino gambling even came into question. As in California, gambling was defined as ""an evil"" capable of doing harm to the public, and was banned in 1965 with the National Gambling Act. However, gambling only applied to games of chance and not skill, such that the territories of Boprthutaswana, Venda, Transkei and Ciskei legalized casino gambling. In the late 1950's many countries in Africa began following suit, after reaching the understanding that casino gambling was able to bring much needed economic interest to Africa. And by the late 1990's, casino gambling had developed into a full-grown industry. Major players in the African casino gambling industry
The casino gambling industry was initially dominated by two major players; the Holiday Inn and the Southern Sun, which both obtained licenses from the Bantustan Government. In 1983 Sun International was formed, and it only took the company a matter of years before it ruled all 18 homelands. Sun international quickly became a casino gambling monopoly in Africa, and its success can be attributed to 2 key factors; the first being the high revenue taxes it brought into Africa, the second being that nearly all of its staff was brought in from Europe, such that the European gambling influence was overwhelming. Sun International eventually spread to places like Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mauritius, Zambia, Namibia and Swaziland. And then in 2001 it happened; Sun international signed a deal with Boss Media to launch an online version of their casino.
Africa quickly became a hot topic among online gambling industry professionals. For years it was considered one of the leading places for offshore online gambling companies to operate their services, as it maintained a legal system that was suited to international audiences, and an economically stable environment for such practices. Yet this was the situation for a limited amount of years, for in 2007 the Gambling Act was amended to prohibit online gambling entirely in South Africa - the main African market, in order to ""protect consumers"" rather than ""punish"" them. This came as a blow to industry workers and online gamblers alike.
Africa's place in the international online gambling industry today
Today, the African online gambling community is larger than ever (despite prohibitions), and this is being expressed on a number of levels. For one, the African market has received great exposure and acknowledgement from online gambling companies. For example, eCOGRA has published several market reviews that have included Africa. Also, it is now becoming common for online casinos to accept the South African Rands currency, which has proven a highly successful way of attracting even more African players to the online gambling scene. The countries in which online gambling is most popular these days are Ghanna, Cameroon, Egypt, Botswana, Uganda, Namibia and Zimabwe, and the land-based gambling in these areas has generated more than 36 billion Rands for its economy from industry revenues alone.
Today's most popular casino game in Africa is poker - both online and offline. The game is most celebrated in South Africa, where national tournaments, poker associations and poker communities have been established. The looming question on everyone's minds, however, is whether or not online gambling in South Africa will be re-legalized. The National Gambling Board there has established a bill proposing a law to regulate online gambling, so that operators and citizens alike could carry on in a protected environment. Yet this remains an unsettled issue, and it will take time before the bill can be implemented, if at all passed. If passed, though, it will reignite the online gambling passion in South Africa, and re-instate a nation of enthusiastic online gamblers. |
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