South African Minister Warns on Internet Gambling

South Africa's Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry Minister came out this week to warn its citizens about online gambling, saying that banks will not process payments from online casinos.

Rob Davies made the comments this week pertaining to operators in the country as well as punters who are illegally betting on games. In his statement regarding online betting Davies said, "Anyone operating illegally under the presumption that eventually they will be legalised ought to understand that they will not get a licence for this."

"South Africans participating in online gambling have no defence or recourse if they get ripped-off. We are also talking to institutions that are dealing with money laundering to ensure that banks are not processing such transactions."

Other politicians in South Africa agreed with Davies, with Representative Priscilla Tozama Mantashe noting: "When someone would support online gambling you wonder whose interest is the person promoting. A person who is serving the poor people will not support online. The majority of our people especially the poor do not understand online gambling."