Swazi Gambling Firm Appeals SA Legal Decision

Saturday February 17, 2007

The South African online gambling legal scene is warming up this date adumbrate information that permission has been addicted for a solution civil situation to act as heard influence the Supreme Authority of Appeals access the judicial centre of Bloemfontein. On Thursday 8th February, character the Alpine Assessor of South Africa the Honourable Magistrate Hartzenberg yes Piggs Online Casino assent to appeal an earlier November ruling.

The situation has its origins influence 2003 when a pursuit was present by an online gambling company based influence neighbouring Swaziland to secure a declaratory astuteness that its internet gambling operations influence South Africa were legal.

Casino Enterprises advantageous Piggs Online Casino initiated the appraiser alertness on the basis that South African gambling on its internet sites is legal considering the servers are influence Swaziland, any of the accepted money area, and licensed and regulated by the Swaziland Gambling Board.

The application ran into anxiety consequence November last allotment when Pretoria High Judge Judge W. Hartzenberg oral that, access his appearance Casino Enterprises had not airy a actuation for approaching him for the array.

Casino Enterprises, which runs Piggs online casino among other gambling venues, served application to appeal the Hartzenberg ruling on 7 December 2006, and Hartzenberg gave the company until 15 December to redraft its application for a appraiser aligning that could declare its internet gambling operations influence SA legal.

Character his 27 November astuteness, Hartzenberg oral that, access his appearance, Casino Enterprises did not disclose a ground for approaching him for the classification. "In the aftermath, I shall set aside the decision and acquiesce the plaintiff age to file an amended accommodation, " Hartzenberg oral influence the acumen.

The appeal assumed added attention than was at antecedent sight barefaced, as bodily refocused attention on ambiguities surrounding the amends of South African online gambling, which the public ascendancy at Cabinet akin is currently considering legalising and regulating.

A further wrangle consequently developed when the Gauteng provincial gambling board cautioned that authentic had instructed its attorney to oppose Piggs Online Casino's "... application for allowance to appeal and to lodge an application to aligning Piggs Online Casino to agree hide the astuteness handed down by Justice Hartzenberg, age waiting for the appeal act for heard".

"This means the legal ambiguity about online gambling continues and that online gamblers and online gambling advertisers obtain a further reprieve from prosecution," oral a Gauteng endorsed.

Despite Hartzenberg effectively having set the circumstances aside, the parties involved own up to any more haggard diametrically contrary conclusions from the position. The Public and Gauteng Gambling Boards design Hartzenberg's acumen because a achievement and hold threatened to prosecute online casinos, gamblers and advertisers alike, while Casino Enterprises believes its activities remain perfectly legal.

This week's permission to proceed with the appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeals was granted on February 8th, and the matter will now be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeals in Bloemfontein at a date to be allocated.

Meanwhile, the South African Cabinet has approved a Draft Gambling Amendment Bill to regulate online and cellphone gambling. National Gambling Board CEO Thibedi Majake last year said his board would license online casinos once the Bill becomes law.

Although the Casino Enterprises case could well be overtaken by political events, it remains one of significant international interest following the recent ruling by an Israeli judge that internet gambling takes place at the gambler's PC and not at the servers of the online casino.