South Africa to legalize online gambling?

South Africa is closer to legalizing gambling online.

South Africa adopted a draft amendment bill that will legalize online if it is passed into law. The bill proposes a licensing system for players and the online gaming Web sites. South Africa originally outlawed the industry in 2004 to give the government more time to do research and to come up with effective licensing and regulation procedures.

The amendment bill was submitted to the South African Cabinet in October. It was available for viewing, and supporters hope it will pass into law sometime in the first quarter of 2007. The main concern of South African is how to prevent money laundering and effectively regulate the industry. Some other key issues in the bill are still being worked out such as how gaming proceeds will be taxed. There's also the issue of additional resources being needed for the proposed regulations to be enforced by the National Gambling Board.