South Africa is sacrificing jobs and billions of rands in tax revenue because government refuses to legalise online gambling, Democratic Alliance MP Dean Macpherson says.
Companies like Betway, Hollywoodbets and Sportingbet have grown so successful they are sponsoring South African national and provincial sports teams to the tune of tens of millions of rands. Macpherson said provincial gambling councils changed their views about online gambling when they realised how much revenue it could generate if it were legalised.The report explained that the new law would require public consultation, after which the Speaker of the National Assembly will refer it to parliamentary portfolio committees for further consideration.It explained that President Thabo Mbeki assented to the the National Gambling Amendment Act on 10 July 2008.
Concurrently, a lack of regulation is resulting in revenue and jobs being lost to other gambling jurisdictions.