New National Gambling Board: What It Can and Cannot Do About Online Casinos

What the Minister announced about the new National Gambling Board

On 9 October 2026 the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, welcomed Cabinet's concurrence on the appointment of the new National Gambling Board in September 2026. The statement, issued by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and carried on Polity, is the clearest official account so far of who sits on the board and what the Minister expects of it. If you are asking what the new National Gambling Board means for online casinos, the short answer is: more oversight pressure, no new licences and no change to the law.

The board is led by Dr Makgathatso Charlotte Chana Pilane-Majake as chairperson and Kganki Matabane as deputy chairperson. The statement names seven other members: Chuma Fani, Silochini Pillay, Zoleka Gloria Bula, Milton Ntwana, Niklasina Maria (Niki) Kruger, Khayalethu Ntimbela and Sizakele Magangoe. That makes nine people in total.

The Minister described the appointment as "a significant milestone" and said the National Gambling Board (NGB) had operated without a board since 2014. SiGMA World, in its report of 6 October, adds that the new appointments remain subject to standard qualification and security checks, and that the nine members include representatives of the police service, the dtic, National Treasury and the Department of Social Development. We have taken the names and roles from the dtic statement and used SiGMA only for the vetting detail and the representative roles, which the statement itself does not spell out.

We covered the first reports of the appointment in our earlier news brief. This post goes further: it looks at what a board can actually change for someone who plays at an offshore-licensed online casino.

Why South Africa went twelve years without a board

The gap is a story in its own right. According to GroundUp, the NGB was placed under administration in 2014 by the then trade minister Rob Davies after a forensic audit into maladministration and wasteful expenditure, and its entire board resigned a little over two months later. GroundUp also reported that the department advertised for new board members in 2024, and that Minister Tau confirmed this in reply to a parliamentary question on 10 October 2024.

In practice the NGB has been run since then by administrators and, more recently, by an acting chief executive. The Minister's statement names Lungile Dukwana as acting chief executive officer and says the incoming board will build on the progress made under his leadership and that of the executive team.

Our reading: a regulator with no board is a regulator with no independent governance layer. Decisions on strategy, spending and policy advice went through administrators rather than a body with a formal oversight role. That does not mean the NGB did nothing. It issued warnings, launched a public tool and worked with other agencies, as the next sections show. It does mean that a board changes who is accountable for those choices.

What the National Gambling Board can and cannot do

Before looking at online casinos, it helps to be clear about what the NGB is. On its own About Us page, the board says that under sections 65(1) and 65(2) of the National Gambling Act it provides advice on policy, statutory matters and legislative reform, and monitors socio-economic patterns of gambling activity, sector performance, market share and market conduct. It also says plainly that it does not license operators, and that the provincial licensing authorities have the sole mandate to issue national and provincial gambling licences.

The Minister's statement lines up with this. He listed the board's tasks as addressing illegal gambling, investigating unlawful winnings, monitoring compliance by provincial licensing authorities, watching market share and market conduct, and assessing the risks and socio-economic impact of gambling. He also expects it to advise on norms and standards so that regulation is harmonised across provinces, work with other regulators, and give policy and regulatory recommendations to the National Gambling Policy Council.

• It can: advise government, monitor the market, support enforcement against illegal gambling, keep the register of excluded persons and push for consistent standards between provinces.
• It cannot: issue a licence for an online casino, or change the Act. Only Parliament amends legislation.

That second point matters most for players. A new board does not create a lawful route to licensed online casino games in South Africa. Our South Africa legal overview explains the position in full: no South African operator currently holds a licence for remote casino games, and the sites that accept South African players are licensed offshore.

What the NGB has already said about online gambling

The Minister's remark that the board arrives "at the time when there is excessive gambling in society, including online" is consistent with what the NGB told Parliament in June. TimesLIVE reported on 24 June 2026 that acting chief executive Lungile Dukwana briefed MPs on the growth of illegal online gambling, which he linked to wider access through mobile phones and gambling platforms.

According to that report, the NGB takes the view that section 11 of the current National Gambling Act prohibits interactive gambling, and that it is obliged not to allow the practice to continue unabated. The same report put online betting as the main growth driver in the market, rising from R23.7 billion in 2022/23 to R62.1 billion in 2025/26. Note that this figure describes online betting, not online casino play, and we have not seen a comparable official number for casino games alone.

The TimesLIVE report also said the NGB had written a report to the National Gambling Policy Council on online gambling, bet exchanges and historical loss tracing, and that it is working with Google and Meta to block the websites of illegal online gambling platforms once unlicensed operators are identified. It named external operators working in South Africa without a local licence as a challenge, and described consumers borrowing recklessly and using state grants to gamble.

On the same theme, an NGB media release dated 8 April 2026 introduced a public portal listing licensed operators. In its words, the platform is meant to let the public confirm whether an operator, online or land-based, is licensed in South Africa, and it says only operators listed there are legally authorised to offer gambling services here. We have a separate note on the verified operators tool, and the full text of the NGB media release is on the board's site.

What a restored board could change for illegal online casinos

Nothing in the Minister's statement announces a new enforcement power, a blocking order or a ban. What it does is set expectations. Here is what we think is reasonable to expect, clearly labelled as our own reading rather than anything the NGB has committed to.

• Firmer policy advice. The NGB already reports to the National Gambling Policy Council on online gambling. A board with a formal strategic role may make those recommendations more consistent.
• More attention to advertising. The Minister said the board must strengthen enforcement and enhance collaboration with other regulators. TimesLIVE's June report described a strategy to clamp down on illegal operators and govern advertising.
• Continuity on blocking. The board inherits the open question of how, and by whom, illegal sites are to be blocked. We looked at that in our post on the NGB blocking plan.

What it is unlikely to change quickly is the underlying legal gap. Any change to the law on remote gambling sits with Parliament and not with the NGB. The board can recommend; it cannot legislate.

There is also a timing point. The statement says the appointment was concurred in September, and SiGMA notes that vetting checks still apply. Boards take time to settle, set committees and agree priorities. We would not expect visible policy changes in the next few weeks.

The questions the announcement leaves open

The dtic statement is a welcome piece of news, but it is short on detail, and several practical questions are unanswered. We list them here so readers know where the gaps are.

• When does the board start work? The statement says Cabinet concurred in September 2026. It does not give a start date or a first meeting date.
• How will it work with the provinces? The Minister said the board will work with provincial licensing authorities, yet the NGB itself says those authorities alone issue licences. How the board "monitors compliance" by them in practice is not explained.
• What happens to the blocking project? Nothing in the statement mentions the expression of interest to block illegal sites, or whether the board will oversee any contract that follows.
• Will online casinos get a clearer rule? The Minister said he expects the board to give policy and regulatory recommendations to the National Gambling Policy Council. He did not say what those recommendations should be.

These gaps are normal for a first statement. They also show why we separate what is confirmed (the names, the mandate, the Minister's expectations) from what is still our reading (what the board might do with its attention). If the dtic or NGB answers any of them, we will say so.

What this means for South African players

For anyone who plays at casinos open to South African players, the practical position has not changed this month. The sites are licensed abroad. They are not licensed in South Africa. They accept South African players, but that is not the same as being authorised under South African provincial licensing, and the NGB has been consistent that the verified list is where to check licence status.

Three practical points follow.

• Check, do not assume. If a site is not on the NGB's verified list, it is not a provincially licensed South African operator. That says nothing about whether it holds a licence somewhere else, which you would need to check with that regulator.
• Expect less recourse. The NGB's own release warns that illegal gambling brings a lack of recourse in disputes. Offshore licensing may offer a complaints route, but it is not a South African one.
• Protect your money and your data. Our guide to FICA verification at casinos explains what identity checks to expect, and the payment methods section compares the ways South Africans deposit.

The Minister's concern about harm is worth taking seriously on its own terms. The NGB told MPs about people using borrowed money and state grants to gamble. Gambling is entertainment with real financial risk, and nobody should play with money they need for rent, food or debt. If gambling is causing you stress, the responsible gambling page lists the national helpline and tools such as self-exclusion. Gambling is for adults aged 18 and over.

What to watch next

Several things will show whether the new board changes anything meaningful.

• Whether the nine members take up their posts. SiGMA notes the vetting checks; watch for the dtic or NGB to confirm the board is in place.
• The NGB's first public priorities. A strategy statement, annual performance plan or committee briefing would show whether online gambling leads the agenda.
• Progress on blocking. The expression of interest we covered earlier has no confirmed provider, and any award or legal framework would be a real signal.
• Parliament. Only new legislation could create a licensed route to online casinos. A parliamentary schedule on that would matter far more to players than board appointments.
• Advertising rules. TimesLIVE's June report said the NGB is developing a strategy to govern advertising. Any outcome affects what South African viewers see.

We will update our coverage when the dtic, the NGB or Parliament publishes something concrete. Our earlier note on the NGB's renewed warning about illegal online betting gives the background to the board's stance.

Our overall reading is that a restored board is good news for governance and sets a more serious tone on illegal online gambling, but it is a change in who oversees the work, not in what the law allows. Players should treat the verified list, the licence of the operator they choose and their own spending limits as the things that actually protect them.

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