Gauteng Gambling Board CEO Steven Ngubeni was recently placed on “precautionary suspension” by advocate Fana Nalane, administrator of the gambling board, who was appointed in April. In a statement released on June 3, the board said Ngubeni would be fully compensated during the suspension.
Thiran Marimuthu, the board’s senior manager for gaming control and acting COO, will also serve as acting chief executive of the organization. Few details were available about the suspension. According to an April post on a South African education website, Ngubeni was “quietly planning a gambling revolution by asking government to legalize interactive gambling, move the industry towards full automation and continue to clamp down on illegal gambling by raiding and shutting down illegal sites.” All of this was “aimed at increasing the gambling tax revenue that the board collects for Gauteng Province.”
During the Covid-19 lockdown, reported InsideEducation.com, gaming tax revenues shrunk by 90 percent as casinos and bingo halls closed and gaming machines in pubs were off-limits.
Ngubeni wanted to legalize iGaming to minimize to help make up the shortfall. “In South Africa, to participate in a casino game, you have to go to a casino,” he said. “Casinos want a combination of foot traffic and online gambling.”
