Official languages: Afrikaans, English
Population: 47,900,000
Currency: South African Rand (ZAR)

Current Exchange Rate
1 EUR = 10.8771 ZAR
1 GBP = 11.6045 ZAR
1 USD = 7.3386 ZAR

Casinos in South Africa
Casinos in South Africa were illegal for many years. The Gambling Act of 1965 banned all forms of gambling in South Africa except for horse racing. Interestingly, casinos started to re-emerge in the 1970s. These were built in special areas called Homelands, where native South Africans lived. These Homelands had different laws than the rest of South Africa. When the government changed in 1994, the Homelands were incorporated into the rest of the country. The casinos were kept, and the government decided at this point to legalize casinos in South Africa, along with many other forms of gambling.

Today, there are 37 legal South African casinos. They can be found in all nine of the country's provinces. They are very profitable for the state, since 40% of all casino revenue in the country goes towards taxes. Almost half of all South African casino revenue comes from seven casinos in the Gauteng Province, where Johannesburg is located. Combined, these seven casinos offer 314 tables and 8700 machines. The Gauteng casinos draw nearly 25 million visitors each year.

Online Casinos in South Africa
There are no online casinos in South Africa. In fact, for many years, the government of South Africa fought very hard against online gambling. They tried all tactics, from blocking money transfers to filtering websites. In the end, they decided the best way to control internet gambling is to legalize and regulate it. In July 2008, the National Gambling Amendment Bill was passed. This bill set the wheels in motion for the legalization and regulation of internet gambling in South Africa.

While there are not any South African licensed internet casinos yet, they are coming. Until they arrive, players can just use foreign online casinos. These were once blocked, but the laws have changed. Large international online casinos hosted in other countries often accept players from South Africa. Until the government provides internet gambling licenses, and proper South African online casinos start to open, foreign sites provide players with all the facilities to play online casinos.