Good afternoon, Acting Chairperson, Minister Mpahlwa and hon members, it is my privilege on behalf of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature to rise in support of the National Gambling Amendment Bill. We wish to place on record our appreciation to the staff and all those, including the hon members, who have worked so hard to fine- tune the Bill.
As we all know, gambling regulation is about ensuring that gambling activity is conducted in an environment of fairness and protection. I want to say that what we've just heard from the hon member from the ACDP is what we hear a lot in the provincial legislature: blame and complaints and very few solutions being offered.
It is interesting to hear a person of faith agreeing with the general secretary of the Communist Party. But, I think he should be very careful in misquoting Blade Nzimande.
What does the ACDP want - a ban on all gambling which will force it underground, force it into the hands of organised crime, and do away with any possibility of regulating an industry which we know has negative socioeconomic consequences which have to be ameliorated? This Bill seeks to ameliorate those negative and unintended consequences. It is easy to shout from the rooftops when you are a small opposition party. It is much more difficult to run the economy and the government of the country in a realistic way. So, let's get real.
We in the province had strong reservations about the Bill in its original form and because we value democracy and a strong exchange of ideas, we made no bones about that in our negotiating mandate. But, the Western Cape legislature, with the exception of the hon colleagues from the ACDP, is encouraged by the proposed amendments to the Bill. The Bill, as the hon Minister said, has been strengthened to provide for stronger regulation of interactive gambling and against the stimulation of the demand for gambling, the registration of players and the opening of player accounts, the conditions applicable to interactive gambling licences, and the protection of minors and other persons vulnerable to the negative effects of gambling. It is impossible to close every single loophole in that regard, and stronger measures are required for the prevention of gambling and its association with money laundering, as it had been mentioned, to try to secure compliance with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act legislation.
The province made substantial input into the processes that led to the finalisation of the Bill, which included comments on the interim report commissioned by the National Gambling Board on Internet gambling in South Africa and its implications, costs and opportunities. As you may also be aware this research report, published by the National Academic Centre for Research into Gaming, investigated the parameters within which Internet gaming should be legalised in South Africa and it forms the basis from which this Bill was crafted.
I shall not go into all the details of the inputs we made, save to say that we agree, or we would suggest that the regulation of Internet gambling is no small project. As it is rolled out and implemented, it will include the potential of abuse by end users. We also agree that it is important to do it right the first time, as the second time might not be so effective and there may be numerous unintended consequences.
Thirdly, we must ensure that the industry for which we will be responsible has been correctly positioned in the market but, more importantly, that our standard of regulation applicable to other forms of gambling such as LPMs, casinos and horseracing is not compromised. This implies not only that the use of the product should be attractive to consumers, but also that the integrity of the product, including the mechanisms to be used to process the delivery of that product, should be beyond question and able to withstand the practical rigours of everyday gambling activity.
With respect to advertising and the protection of children and other vulnerable persons, the Western Cape welcomes the further amendments to the Bill. Advertising for interactive gambling has now been restricted, a move we think requires further research, for the following reasons: In this province our license operators are spending very large amounts of money to advertise licensed gaming establishments on the radio, the print media, the outdoors and other forms of promotion. Is this huge advertising, on those forms of gambling, in sync with what we are doing in relation to interactive gambling, Minister Mpahlwa?
Lastly, we are of the opinion that allowing the regulation of Internet gambling in South Africa is likely to receive opposition, especially from land-based casino licensees who may call for protection. They may argue, and there have been signs in this regard that they may have made significant investments in this country in return for the exclusive rights to operate casinos and to benefit from the revenue streams which these activities generate. These concerns will have to be carefully managed and balanced against the socioeconomic goals, policy objectives and regulation imperatives that government is pursuing.
In conclusion, the issue of taxation remains a vexing point. It is important that provinces protect their... I am not sure whether someone with a better command of English will help me here, whether the plural of fiscus is fiscii or fiscuses. Provinces have to protect their revenue base and guard against revenue loss. The Bill in its current format incorporates a provision that, I quote, "tax in respect of interactive gambling activities will be imposed in terms of appropriate legislation". You may agree that this is risky and can mean anything for provinces.
At worst their current revenue base from gambling activities may be at risk. Careful consideration should be given in our opinion, and when the money Bill is crafted, in particular. I am mandated therefore to propose that the money Bill be crafted carefully in consultation with provincial treasuries. I thank you. [Applause.]