South African casino wins right to appeal ban

Piggs Peak Casino, along with other large gambling sites was banned from advertising and operating an online gambling service after the Court ruled that such activities were illegal in South Africa. However, Piggs Peak has challenged this ruling and has been granted leave to appeal.
Silver Sands and African Palace were amongst some of the other big names that were affected by the ban. Whilst African Palace has followed the original ruling and has stopped South Africans from using their online services, Piggs Peak and Silver Sands have resumed their online services until the appeal is heard.

Piggs Peak operations director Lew Saul Koor says his company has resumed its services to South Africans because the leave to appeal effectively overturns the original judgement made by the court and further advised that the appeal date has not yet been set.
Tlotliso Polaki, a spokeswoman for the National Gaming Board advised that the board considers online gambling to be illegal in SA. The Board has drafted a set of regulations that will govern the practice of online gambling, but they have yet to be passed as law.
These draft regulations make provisions for 10 additional licences for online gambling institutions, although Polaki says that this figure may grow, depending on the demand for online gambling licences. However, it is likely that the licensing process will not begin for at least another six months.

Piggs Peak and Silver Sands could face serious consequences if the high court ruling is upheld. The punishment for anyone facilitating online gaming could face a R10 million fine or up to 10 years in jail.