Thursday, 5 December 2024

Online Gaming in Swaziland

In 1998, Swaziland, an independent kingdom on the eastern border of South Africa, gave Piggs Peak Casino an extension to its brick-and-mortar gaming license that allowed it to offer gambling services over the internet. Because Piggs Peak's license for online operations was an extension of its land-based operation, the company pays the same company tax and tax on gross win that it does in its brick-and-mortar casino.

Regulations on currency exchange prohibited Piggs Peak from paying customers in any currency other than the rand, so the company may only offer its services to nations that are part of the Rand Common Monetary Area, which includes Swaziland, South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho. In 2007, the South African Pretoria High Court banned all Swaziland-based sites from accepting wagers from South African residents. The ruling also forbade the advertisement of Swaziland-based internet gambling sites in South Africa.

Piggs Peak appealed to the Bloemfontein High Court to finalize the legality of online gambling in South Africa. In September 2011, the appeal was rejected, ending the litigation. The Appeal Court ruled that the online gambling takes place where the player is, not where the casino's servers are located. Casino Enterprises no longer accepts bets from South African players.