MPs hit out at gambling bill

Michael Hamlyn

Cape Town - Some Members of Parliament (MPs) protested on Wednesday at the Bill to regulate internet gambling. The National Gambling Amendment was introduced to the trade and industry portfolio committee by Fungai Sibanda, the acting Director General of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

But a few members, led by ANC member Ben Turok, complained that the only reason to legislate internet gambling - the Bill calls it interactive gambling - would be in order to abolish it, or at least curb it.

"This is a moral issue, Turok said, and he told the DTI delegation that one argument Sibanda put forward in favour of the Bill - to allow the fiscus to benefit - was wrong: "In my view your approach is the wrong one," he said. "It is a social evil, that we may have to regulate to curb, but we must not make money out of it."

He said it would be like making money out of prostitution.

The legislation is not sufficiently critical of gambling, he said. "When you have a relative evil in society either we legislate to prohibit it or to curb it. You don't legislate to encourage it."

Turok's view was echoed by other governing party members including Solomon Rasmeni, from the North West province, who told members that he would only support the new Bill if it is to be a step "towards doing away with this unacceptable activity".

He wanted to see gambling, whether on the internet or in the casino, done away with entirely. "It eats the moral fibre of society," he said.

Western Cape member, Danny Oliphant, sounded a note of caution, however, saying: "I'm not sure we will be able to tackle the moral issues."

Nonetheless, he opposed the notion of compelling all players to register before they can play, saying that this will mean they become a permanent participant, and will not be able to be just a casual gambler.

Other MPs complained that all the gambling sites are owned by whites, and that blacks are impoverished by it.

- I-Net Bridge