In Light of New South African Gambling Laws, Piggs Peak Online Casino Backs Down

Ten days after a high court decision essentially made online gambling in South Africa illegal, South Africa-based gambling website Piggs Peak has discontinued serving residents of the country. A company statement read in part that “As you are aware, we lost our application in the Pretoria High Court regarding the legality of South Africans playing on our Swaziland-licensed internet casino, which has serious implications for South African players.”  

On August 20, a high court in Johannesburg passed a judgment proscriptively banning the provision of online casinos in South Africa, the access to any gaming sites via South African-based ISP, the processing of payments to such sites by financial institutions, and the running of advertising related to gambling. 

Though technically, this law cannot go into effect until trade and industry minister Rob Davies receives a final report from the Gambling Review Commission, expected either today or tomorrow, government organizations and private companies are treating the word of the court as bond. “Online gambling is currently prohibited in South Africa,” stated Gauteng Gambling Board head of legal services Lucky Lukhwareni. “and the GGB will pursue any person or organization which contravenes the gambling legislation in [Gauteng Province].”  

Promised Piggs Peak, “We are in the process of applying for leave to appeal the judgment and felt that we could continue operating in the interim.”