Last week, South African Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel, publicised a new bill being proposed to the government: the Interactive Gaming Tax Bill.

By allowing online gambling to exist but regulating and taxing them, South Africa has created a stable industry with less black market activity than that of the US, critics claim.

This measure, if undertaken, will tax gross gambling revenue outside of operators within the online gambling industry. Sites in or doing business in South Africa would be subject to a special tax.

This tax was discussed in the National Gambling Amendment Bill, an act that passed in South Africa five months ago. The law provides strong regulation of online gambling. The government stated strong national oversight was the best course for national gambling policy, as opposed to it remaining in the hands of offshore jurisdictions, with little or no protection for local consumers, it said.