MP: Gambling brings additional crime
An online gaming bill proposed by MP Geordin Hill Lewis of South Africa’s Democratic Alliance has been rejected in the National Assembly. The “remote gambling bill” introduced by the DA was slammed as a way to legally steal from families.
Another MP, Shaik Emam of the National Freedom Party, declared that gambling brings crime and misery that disproportionately affect the poor. “People’s careers are destroyed as they resort to white-collar crime to cover their losses,” he argued before his fellow lawmakers. “Children go to bed hungry.”
Hill-Lewis countered by saying that the regulation of online gaming is not only inevitable, but “the best way to protect the public,” according to the website CalvinAyre.com. He was backed up in his claim by Inkatha Freedom Party MP Jan Esterhuizen, who said there are at least 2,000 illegal gambling operators who will go on serving South African customers, whether they are licensed and taxed or not.
“Once regulated it can be better controlled and restricted with appropriate safety measures,” Esterhuizen said.
