Legal South African Poker Sites

Is Online Poker Legal in South Africa?

No, online poker is not legal in South Africa. In fact, no forms of online gambling are legal in South Africa. The State has been working hard in an attempt to preserve its online gambling monopoly, fighting the war mainly through legal channels. The legislation governing online gambling is the National Gambling Act (2004). Section 11 of the act pretty much lays it bare:

“A person must not engage in or make available an interactive game except as authorized in terms of this Act or any other national law”.

What would be an “authorized” interactive game? Basically, one run by the government. Since no South African poker sites are licensed by the government, all of them are considered illegal. How handy. As if the law wasn’t clear enough,a recent High Court ruling restated the obvious: “this ruling affirms the South African laws that interactive gambling taking place in South Africa currently remains illegal”.

In sum, it is illegal to:

• Play at unlicensed South African poker sites, which is all of them.
• Operate a poker site within South Africa.
• Operate a poker site that serves South African customers from abroad.
• Advertise a poker site in South Africa.

Will Online Poker Be Legalized in South Africa Soon?

It’s hard to say. The most recent court ruling, which strongly affirmed that online poker remains illegal, came down in 2010. That’s pretty recent, and not indicative of a legislative body willing to change its mind soon.

As is the case whenever a government wants to make an entire industry illegal, it’s all about profits. South Africa will legalize online poker once the government figures out how to tax and regulate the game. How soon that will be depends on how much pressure the government feels to act decisively.

Is It Safe to Play Online Poker in South Africa?

That depends on your definition of safe. As we now know, it is illegal to play online poker in South Africa. But it’s useful to note that nobody has ever been charged for playing cards at a South African poker site. The government lacks the capacity and infrastructure to police the entire internet. It is incredibly unlikely that anyone would ever be caught and prosecuted for playing at a South African poker site.

Indeed, many South Africans gamble online regularly, despite anti-gaming legislation. Professor Peter Collins, the Executive Director of the National Responsible Gambling Program, estimates that 250,000 South Africans regularly gamble online. Pretty much every major poker site accepts South African players with open arms, and none of these sites have been prosecuted for operating in the South African market.

All this suggests that while online poker is technically illegal in South Africa, the government isn’t enforcing the National Gambling Act. Players are signing up at South African poker sites in droves, and gambling operators aren’t scared of doing business in South Africa.

Do I Have to Pay Income Tax on Poker Winnings in South Africa?

The jury is out on this one. The answer is basically who knows?

If you’re up for some light reading on the subject, a student at the University of Pretoria has published a dissertation on the topic. Entitled “A Critical Analysis of the Taxation of Interactive Gambling Income Earned By resident South African Individuals”, the report basically concludes just as I did: that nobody knows whether or not poker winnings are taxable in South Africa.

How Can I Deposit at South African Poker Sites?

Easy: just use a credit card, a cash transfer service, or an e-wallet.

Most South African poker sites accept VISA and MasterCard as payment options. Some also accept American Express and Diner’s Club. Both 888 Poker and Party Poker accept all three.

If you don’t want to use a credit card, try a cash transfer service like Western Union. E-mail support at whatever poker site you choose to obtain payment information. Then, head down to a Western Union location near you to send money. Your chosen South African poker site will credit your poker account with the cash when they receive the funds.

Alternatively, you can save some hassle by signing up with an e-wallet service. NETELLER and MoneyBookers are the two most popular e-wallets in the world, and both are available to South African poker players.

To get started with an e-wallet service, simply sign up for an account. Then, fund your e-wallet account from a bank account or credit card. Then, select your e-wallet as a payment method in your poker site’s cashier window (e.g. MoneyBookers or NETELLER). And finally, complete the deposit process on the poker site. Cash will be instantly transferred from your e-wallet account to your poker account, and you’ll be ready to play in a matter of minutes.