Fahfee gamble not a good bet

Online casinos, greyhound racing and "fahfee" are not going to be legalised immediately.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies released the Gambling Review Commission's report at a press briefing in parliament yesterday, and said that public hearings into the findings will begin next month.

Until a new gambling law is in place, illegal gambling, which includes "bush-racing" on retired racehorses and playing online poker, remain illegal.

He said those who believed they could import new types of gambling into South Africa in the hopes that government would eventually legalise it were making a mistake.

"I am not prepared to approve a single additional gambling activity in this country until we have established a new framework [about what kind of gambling will be allowed]," he said.

Despite the fact that online poker operators are advertising on national and satellite television, this remains illegal, he said. Anyone using their credit card to gamble at online casinos would be committing an illegal transaction, and could find their winnings being confiscated by the government.