SABA CEO: Illegal Gambling Fight Remains in Advocacy Phase, Not Imminent Reform
2026-08-05
SABA CEO Sean Coleman says the association's campaign against illegal offshore gambling remains at the advocacy stage, with no imminent legislative changes. The group is supporting a National Gambling Board tender for website-blocking services while calling for a multi-layered enforcement approach.
Sean Coleman, CEO of the Association of South African Bookmakers (SABA), has clarified that the industry body's push against illegal offshore gambling is still in the advocacy stage, about three weeks after SABA issued a statement calling for legal reforms.
Coleman said the July statement was intended to contribute to what he described as an increasingly important national policy discussion, not to indicate that legislative amendments were imminent. SABA's proposals cover the National Gambling Act, the Electronic Communications Act and the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, and call for coordinated action from the Reserve Bank and other regulators.
Scale and impact
A Yield Sec report commissioned by SABA estimated that illegal operators represent about 62% of all online gambling activity in South Africa. The same research put the annual outflow at more than R50 billion in gross gambling revenue and suggested around 16 million South Africans used illegal platforms in the past year.
NGB tender
SABA has welcomed a procurement process run by the National Gambling Board, which began on 30 June and seeks a provider to monitor, block, track and report illegal gambling websites. Offers are due by 7 August 2026. Coleman said the association has received no operational timelines or implementation details beyond the public tender.
He described the tender as recognition that technology belongs in any serious enforcement strategy, but cautioned that website blocking will not solve the problem alone. SABA has long advocated a combination of technology, legislation and coordinated enforcement.
Constraints on enforcement
SABA's statement followed a position paper from the Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) that called for any blocking regime to be court-directed, publicly disclosed and reviewed periodically. ISPA chair Sasha Booth-Beharilal said internet restrictions should be imposed only through a clear legislative framework that balances communication rights against potential harm. Coleman said he was not aware of any direct response from ISPA since.
South Africa's regulatory structure adds complexity, Coleman noted, because gambling is a concurrent competence with nine provincial licensing frameworks rather than a single national online gambling authority. He also cited illegal operators' use of rand-denominated betting, local payment methods, language support and digital marketing, plus cross-border payment systems and cryptocurrency that allow rapid relocation.
Priority intervention
Asked to single out a starting point, Coleman said the immediate focus should be coordinated technology-based enforcement to disrupt consumer access to illegal platforms, supported by a regularly updated public list of licensed operators and a broader consumer awareness push. He argued that reducing access today strengthens consumer protection while wider reforms are being developed.
Coleman rejected any suggestion that the campaign is meant to protect licensed operators from competition, saying the goal is to make sure South African consumers get the protections parliament envisioned, including responsible gambling safeguards and revenue for the fiscus.