Marita Carnelley

A Précis of the South African Gambling Industry

3 ONE OF THE NEWEST legal gambling “havens” in the world must be South Africa. From a country that traditionally frowned upon gambling and gambling games, public policy and legislation have radically changed over the past decade.1 The law now provides for a smorgasbord of possibilities for legal gambling. The changes were first formalized in the interim constitution,2 confirmed in the final constitution,3 and manifested itself in two national acts4 and nine pieces of provincial gambling legislation.5 Although the legislation is in place, the implementation of the process is not yet complete. The change in legislation was originally based on the premise that there is a latent demand for gambling.6 By channeling this demand for gambling into a regulated industry, it could be ensured that there is no over-stimulation of the latent demand for gambling and that players would be protected.7 At the same time the State would be able to generate some of the necessary revenue to fulfill its socio-economic responsibilities relating to the advancement and empowerment of historically disadvantaged people.8 With regard to the regulation of gambling, the constitution provides for a dual licensing system.9 The national legislature has the exclusive legislative power to regulate lotteries and sports pools.10 In matters of “casinos, racing, gambling and wagering” however, both the national and provincial legislatures have concurrent legislative powers. In this regard the National Gambling Act provides certain guidelines to the provinces in their regulation of concurrent gambling issues.11 It is noteworthy that monopolies are expressly limited12 and political interference in the casino licensing

The South African Military Court system - independent, impartial and constitutional?

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa makes provision for a defence force that is structured and managed as a disciplined military force. Even prior to the Constitution, to ensure discipline in the military, the South African Military Law had been developed and the military court system has been recognised by the Constitutional Court. This military criminal justice system has been created with a separate system of courts hearing matters pertaining to the usual, as well as other special statutory offences; and with a similar, but separate, investigative procedure, prosecuting authority, and court procedure.

Gambling and Sport in South Africa

This book looks at Law and the Policy on Betting and Sport in many countries around the world—sport is a global phenomenon—providing a very useful and valuable comparative survey on a subject that is so vital for safeguarding and preserving the integrity of those sports in which betting is legally allowed. The country reports show how sports-related betting is organized in the country concerned, also from a historical and policy perspective (national Lotteries Act; state run/state licensed lotteries and/or private operators; how the licensing system for public operators works; state supervisory mechanisms, etc.), and contain a treatment of the national case law.

The Catch 22 situation of widows from polygamous marriages being discarded under customary law: MM v MN 2010 (4) SA 286 (GNP) in a historical context

abstract This article deals with the continued ‘discarding’ of a wife by the courts. The courts do so by declaring the marriage of a second or later wife in a dual (polygamous) marriage void in circumstances where the husband failed to adhere to the provisions (especially s 7(6)) of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act 120 of 1998 when entering into the subsequent marriage while already married. This declaration of voidness usually occurs after the death of the husband, and has devastating legal and emotional consequences for the ‘discarded’ wife. This is especially heartbreaking as she herself and the community in which she lives regarded her as legally married. The scenario played itself out again in the case of MM v MN 2010 (4) SA 286 (GNP). This judgment is discussed from a historical perspective with reference to the above-mentioned Act as well as the legislation that preceded this Act. The success of the current statute in light of the objects thereof is discussed. It is concluded that interpretation by the courts of the current legislation has created a new type of discarded widow – and as such the Act and the courts have not succeeded in protecting the wives, as was intended by the legislation. Before the current Act, it was the customary wife that was discarded by the law in favour of the civil wife. Today, it is the subsequent wife that is discarded – irrespective of the nature of the marriage – as the first marriage takes preference over any other marriages. There is thus still a discarded wife – all because of the inaction of a husband who ignored the existing legislative provisions.

Lawfulness as a Requirement in the Casino Licensing Process in South Africa

THE GRANTING OF THE FINAL of the six casino licenses in the Gauteng province has been fraught with legal problems. The saga commenced in 1997 when the Gauteng Gambling Board (GGB) received various applications for the proposed casinos after an invitation for casino license applications were published.1 The GGB did not demarcate particular licensing areas, as it preferred interested parties to nominate their areas of choice. It did subsequently group the applicants into six geographical areas to ensure a reasonable spread of casinos around the province. Tsogo Sun Holdings (Pty) Ltd (Tsogo) brought three casino license applications, one each in the geographical areas of the East Rand, Johannesburg North/Midrand, and Pretoria. In the West Rand, only two applications were relevant, namely Silverstar Development Ltd (Silverstar) and Rhino Hotel and Resort (Proprietary) Ltd (Rhino). Tsogo was awarded a casino license in the Johannesburg North/Midrand-area for Montecasino. Although Tsogo was also ranked first in the East Rand area, the GGB decided not to award more than one license to the same bidding company, as it was undesirable that one company dominate the market and it would ensure diversity.2 This decision raises interesting legal questions, but as it was not dealt with in any of the judgments it is excluded from this discussion. Eventually two licenses were awarded in the East Rand, namely to Global Resorts (Caesars) and to Afrisun Gauteng (Carnival City). No license was awarded in the Pretoria area. The prescribed process followed in the awarding of the casino licenses had to be transparent and multi-faceted. The process included public hearings, probity investigations, and inspections of the proposed sites. Public hearings were held in 1997 and after consideration thereof the GGB concluded that, in the West Rand, Rhino’s project ranked the highest. The focus of this discussion falls on this area. A report was sent to the Executive Council (EC) of the Gauteng province for their decision whether or not to concur with the decision of the GGB. The EC initially agreed with the decision of the GGB, but in February 1998 the EC, or certain members of the EC, changed their preference to Silverstar. In April 1998 the EC again changed its mind and concurred with the decision of the GGB to award the license to Rhino. The decision of the EC and the granting of the license to Rhino was set aside in the High Court because the EC’s decision was found not to be objectively justifiable in relation to the reasons provided. The matter was referred back to the EC for reconsideration.3 Rhino then instituted legal action regarding the finalization of the license award, but later withdrew the application when it and Silver-