Minister Tau of South Africa to appoint ads monitoring body

South Africa is launching efforts to investigate the scope and compliance of gambling marketing within the country according to local media reports.

According to News24, Parks Tau, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition, has commissioned his department to begin the process of appointment of a National Gambling Policy Council.

Tau’s concerns were heightened after a study by South Africa’s National Gambling Board (NGB) revealed that gambling companies have used online advertising strategies not compliant with local legislation.

The Minister also accuses companies of pushing promotions out on platforms like YouTube without any safer gambling messaging, in addition to inadvertently reaching children.

Questioned on the matter by MPs in Parliament, Tau explained: “The National Gambling Act prohibits the placing of advertisements in media primarily directed at persons under the age of 18. 

“There is an issue of sponsorship of family-friendly programmes, where major bookkeepers sponsor them. This results in the increase of visibility and frequency of gambling content during shows mostly viewed by minors.” 

The Council’s key focus will be to clamp down on illegal online gambling ads and providing much needed regulatory clarity in the space after a seven-year operational hiatus that last saw the Council convening in 2018.

Tau added: “There is an intention to ensure that we can regulate online gambling. It is an environment where different provinces have different approaches, with some being more relaxed. We also want to ensure that there is rehabilitation of addicts,” he told MPs. 

Majority of iGaming outside regulations

Online gambling in South Africa represents a significant local economic segment, with the NGB revealing that R1.1trn (£41bn) was wagered during FY24. However, a large portion of that remains outside of the country’s coffers due to insufficient regulations.

For comparison, in that same year, total tax collected from regulated gambling was just R4.8bn.

Tau remains well aware of the prominence of illegal gambling offers. In the NGB’s 23/24 annual report, he added: “This surge in illegal online gambling activities and the widespread advertising of gambling, often targeting vulnerable populations, has presented new challenges for regulators.

“The convergence of technology, consumer behaviour, and regulatory frameworks has necessitated a robust response to these challenges.”

Lottery debacle yet to be settled

Minister Tau has another issue to settle currently on his hands. South Africa’s next national lottery licence is up for grabs, with the winning tenure set to be announced this month. 

However, with one of the applicants being current licence holder Ithuba, other candidates have expressed concerns that the government might try and sway the application process in the firm’s favour given the past controversial relationship between the two.