Not every area on Earth is open to the concept of gambling. South Africa, as we will use in this example, has always been a bit of a controversial area. Local legislation has banned both physical and online gambling, forcing outside companies to avoid serving the country. South Africa is one of several countries that have banned online gambling, which forces native players to find new ways of accessing online casinos. One of the most popular methods is through the use of proxies, though this practice is still illegal and fines can be levied against those who perform such an activity. Overall, gambling in South Africa has remained an extremely controversial topic for all involved.

The government of South Africa has a generally negative view towards gambling but in 1994, they repealed the blanket ban two years ahead of the National Gambling Act. This act put the power in the hands of the individual provinces and the movement expanded with the 2004 National Gambling Act. Still, no progress has been made with the legalization of online casinos. Even up through the year 2010, courts made the ruling that online casinos outside of the borders could not offer services. Anyone with a South African IP address is prohibited from using an online gambling site and can incur stiff penalties. Right now, the estimated penalty will be up to 10 million Rand, possibly accompanied by 10 years in prison. These fees will be levied against the providers; however, since most online gambling providers are sitting outside south African borders, such fines are rare. If caught, profits must be transferred to a treasury trust account, which right now contains over three point five million Rand. While this is a substantial amount of money, it is hardly the bulk of what has been made.

The future of online gambling in South Africa is uncertain, but it is hoped that at some point the government will recognize the economic benefits and make some sort of concession. Until then, the entire affair is up in the air and anyone’s guess.