Despite that there is still no definite law legalizing online casino gambling in South Africa, under the current National Gambling Act, the forthcoming passing of the National Gambling Amendment Bill is likely to bring with it a dramatic turn around in the current situation. The bill has already been approved by the National Assembly, and only the approval of the National Council of Provinces is pending its go ahead. Part of the bill will include safer conditions for online casino players in South Africa who currently face up to R 10 million in fines or up to 10 years imprisonment.

South Africa is in still in a state of uncertainty when it come to online gambling legislation and it looks like it will remain that way until a commission has concluded its findings and presented them to Parliament. South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry's chief director of policy and legislation, Nomfundo Maseti, explains, “online gambling is not allowed in S.A .at the moment”. There are an estimated half a million online gamblers in the country and the department does not have any information on how much money is being won or lost illegally in S.A. Maseti, also said, that there are no regulations in place to regulate the industry and that South Africans gambling online are doing so illegally and could forfeit their winnings. “It's a risk that they take... you've engaged in an illegal activity.”

According to testimony this week at the National Gambling Review Commission, black market online casino sites are thriving due to the slow movement by government to follow through on the Interactive Gambling Act. The law would license up to top 10 online casino operators for the country, and establish regulations and taxation for them. But implementation cannot begin until Rob Davies, the Minister of Trade and Industry, gives his approval to adjoining regulations.

Online casino has the potential to be a revenue generator for the government. Should the government decide to regulate and licence online casino, the National Gambling Board has considered issuing only 10 licences. Gambling operators would be required to prove they have a physical presence in South Africa and their financial transactions would have to be located within the country's borders.

According to South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry's chief director of policy and legislation, Nomfundo Maseti explained there have been a number applications for licences in South Africa and with delay after delay the concerned companies are getting frustrated. Maseti said, “They can't wait forever.” The government is dithering and in the mean time with an absence of clear responsible rules laid out punters are basically just doing whatever they want.

Congressman Jim McDermott of Washington introduced a bill today that would use online gambling including online casino and sports betting taxation to fund foster care programs. The new proposal suggests using 25% of revenue from the regulation of online casino to pay for social programs and housing involving foster kids.

The bill is a more clearly delineated version of a measure proposed by Jim McDermott last year, which also proposed taxation rates for online gambling. Congressman JimMcDermott also includes a stipulation that states and Native American tribes receive 6 percent of the revenue collected from online gambling.

Congressman Jim McDermott told The Hill that ensuring states and social programs like those for foster children aren't hurt too badly by budget cuts is a big part of his thought in revising the bil The new bill, like its predecessor, imposes a federal licensing fee of 2% of deposits. This tax cannot be "deducted from the amounts available as deposits to the person placing a bet." According to Jim McDermott’s officials and previous estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), up to $42 billion could be reaped from the 2% deposit tax along with corresponding corporate, wager, and income taxes. The figure is over a ten-year period.

Congressman Jim McDermott’s new internet gambling venture adds two more twists that HR 2268 lacked. The first ships 25% of funds raised through HR 4976 to the Transitional Assistance Trust Fund, which provides educational opportunities and job training for those currently or formerly in foster care. The amount allocated to each state would depend on its population. In addition, 0.5% of funds raised through HR 4976 would be given to the American Heritage Block Grant Fund, which benefits historic preservation and the arts.

McDermott's office released figures showing the bill could generate $30 billion over the next decade for state coffers, as well as $42 billion for foster care subsidies. "The major reason is to make it possible for states to have access to online gambling revenue," said Congressman Jim McDermott. The bill is intended as a companion to Representative Barney Frank's proposal to regulate online gambling. Frank's bill is in the author's committee, the House Financial Services Committee, awaiting markup, and has acquired 66 co-sponsors.


Source: http://www.pokernewsdaily.com/jim-mcdermott-introduces-internet-gambling-tax-legislation-hr-4976-9321/

While online casino over the last decade has largely threatened land-based casinos in the United States, many state governments, and the federal government as well, have desperately tried to keep the money spent by US gamblers in the US by prohibiting online casino. As government officials have seemingly been running around in every direction trying to tame the beast that is online casino, they have been butting their heads against the wall at every corner they turn.

A poll shows the public may not be behind regulating online casino a top gaming analyst suggests that is due to misinformation and lack of education on the subject which conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University shows that two-thirds of the population believes the law shouldn't be changed to allow legal online casino and other forms of gambling online. This means that at least all those who responded that way think there's already a law in place that makes online casino gaming illegal., while in fact no such law exists. The poll shows that certain urban myths and prejudices about online gambling have been shouted by demagogues, and then repeated by uneducated media, to the point that the general public accepts them for truth, according to OCA gaming analyst Sherman Bradley.

In his interview, OCA gaming analyst Sherman Bradley pointed out that over 65% said they had entered a casino in the last year, meaning a significant portion had accepted the disproved theories about the harmfulness of online gambling. Scientific study has consistently proved that, despite expectations otherwise, Internet betting is far less likely to lead to problem gambling than other forms.

"The poll shows that respondents have a strong positive image of practically every specific casino location, identifying the cities as favorable by a margin consistently better than two-to-one, "Yet they also say that vague, unidentified 'casinos' have negative effects, That means that, when presented with evidence in a particular case, they know casinos are doing good, but gambling still carries a mystique of shadiness." Said OCA gaming analyst Sherman Bradley.

It is no secret that the US government has been fighting online casino and other forms of gambling over the Internet since as early as 1997. Both the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1997 and the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1999 were failed attempts at nipping the industry in the bud. But not until the UIGEA did the federal government have any success in the fight, whatsoever. But they ultimately failed again, forcing otherwise reputable online casino establishments, online funds transfer firms, and online gamblers, themselves, to find loopholes in the laws.

As a result, those US players, who otherwise have been under hard times financially, have attempted to save money on lavish vacations to gambling cities, choosing to playing at online casino and sports betting sites in their homes, at a much cheaper rate. These hardworking and honest Americans are forced to break the law and send their US dollars overseas, on a daily basis.