Communications minister Solly Malatsi cannot use telecommunications regulation to restrict access to legally authorised gambling, and any attempt to do so could face a court challenge, gambling attorney Wayne Lurie warned on Monday.
Lurie, of Lurie Inc Attorneys, was responding to Malatsi’s written reply to a parliamentary question about gambling and betting vouchers bought through mobile network providers. The question, from Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana, asked whether the minister intends to curb such vouchers and what safeguards his department requires from mobile operators to stop minors from buying them.
A media report last week that South Africa is introducing new rules for gambling on phones is not accurate. Malatsi’s reply, dated 6 October, announces no new rules. It commits the minister only to engaging with communications regulator Icasa on what it can do within its existing powers.
“The minister has not announced a ban on gambling through mobile phones, and it would be incorrect to suggest otherwise. He is examining what Icasa can lawfully do within its existing powers,” said Lurie.
In the reply, Malatsi said the National Gambling Act and provincial gambling laws provide the regulatory and licensing framework for gambling and betting.
“Accordingly, where a mobile network or mobile platform is used merely as a channel through which a consumer purchases or accesses a betting or gambling voucher, this does not in itself make the underlying gambling product an electronic communications service regulated by Icasa,” he said.
He said he would nonetheless engage the regulator on what measures it could take “within its regulatory mandate” where communications networks are used to facilitate access to gambling, including whether existing consumer-protection measures are adequate.
Legislative authority
Malatsi pointed to Icasa’s code of conduct for premium-rated services, introduced in 2016, which requires licensees to ensure that third-party premium-rated services offered over their networks meet prescribed consumer protection standards. But he said any safeguards applicable to gambling vouchers would depend on how the service is structured and whether it falls within Icasa’s jurisdiction.
On Gana’s question about minors, the reply does not say what, if any, safeguards the department currently requires of mobile operators. It says only that the age at which a person may lawfully gamble remains a matter for gambling legislation.
“A bet does not become unlawful simply because it is placed on a cellphone. Nor does the use of a mobile network give the communications minister the power to decide which gambling products South Africans may access,” said Lurie.
The constitution assigns legislative authority over gambling and wagering to national and provincial government. Provincial gambling boards license and supervise operators under the National Gambling Act and provincial laws, with the National Gambling Board playing an oversight role. A transaction taking place over a mobile network does not transfer those responsibilities to Icasa, Lurie said.
“A football bet placed with a licensed bookmaker and authorised for online acceptance does not become unlawful because the customer uses a cellphone. Equally, prohibited interactive gambling does not become lawful simply because it is accessed through a different device.”
Lurie said the Electronic Communications Act also limits the minister’s authority to issue policies and policy directions.
“If government attempted to prohibit access to an otherwise lawful gambling product simply because it was accessed through a mobile network, it would need a clear legal basis. Measures exceeding those powers would be vulnerable to legal challenge.”
He also questioned whether restricting particular ways of buying gambling vouchers would reduce harm. “If consumers can purchase the same products through other payment methods, restricting one channel may simply change how they pay. There is also a risk of pushing consumers away from licensed, supervised operators towards unlicensed alternatives.”
Effective consumer protection, he said, requires proper age verification, mechanisms to enforce gambling exclusions and early intervention when a gambler’s behaviour points to potential harm.
“Regulators should cooperate, share information and coordinate enforcement within their existing powers,” said Lurie. “A cellphone does not give the communications minister powers that gambling legislation has entrusted elsewhere.” — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
