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South Africans are getting ready to enjoy a blistering hot summer season. The sun is shining over the African heartland and sports enthusiasts are licking their lips as their teams prepare to do battle for national glory. One particular South African favourite is Test Cricket. Captain Graeme Smith and his charges are looking to secure a dramatic victory over Bangladesh in the upcoming two-Test series beginning this week. Victor Chandler sports betting is providing punters with the perfect opportunity to make some cash off the home team. The gambling tables Punters can bet on an outright winner; the highest opening partnership in the 1st innings; the top South African batsman; who wins the toss; the first innings lead or the top Bangladeshi batsman. The odds on any of these categories are competitive and sure to raise the interest of many punters. If you were backing the home team SA to win the match you would stand to win R1 for every R10 that you put down - seems pretty certain who the favourites are. A Bangladesh victory will score you R16 for every R1 that you bet. Fancy an upset? Back the touring team - you stand to win a fortune! You can even choose your top-scoring SA batsmen in Smith, Kallis, Amla, De Villiers, McKenzie, Prince, Duminy or keeper Boucher - you decide. If you're a fan of the subcontinent team - maybe Ashraful, Iqbal, Siddique, Hasan, Hossain, Rahim or Mortaza will be your high-scorer. If both teams draw - an unlikely scenario - bettors are faced with odds of 11/2. Now all in all this makes Victor Chandler sports betting a great place to back your preferred team.
Sol Kerzner needs no introduction. As the undisputed hotel and casino magnate of South Africa and subsequently a major player in the global industry, he has forged ahead with plans to open his Dubai based resort. $20 million bash Times may be tough but Sol was having none of it when he rolled out the red carpet and just about everything else that goes with it for some of the world's most famous celebrities. Robert De Niro, Kylie Minogue, Shirley Bassey, Mischa Barton and Wesley Snipes were just some of the 2,000 celebrity names in attendance. Fireworks, wining and dining and entertainment galore abounded. Atlantis ‘The Palm' Hotel was a hive of activity right into the early hours of Friday morning. The legend South African Sol Kerzner has five kids and six grandchildren and he resides in London with his fourth wife Heather. His companies - One&Only Resorts and Kerzner International Holdings Ltd own 7 five-star resorts and multiple casinos around the world. An ambitious new project entitled The World - featuring a series of man-made islands resembling Planet Earth will start to take shape. South Africa and Morocco will play host to the venture too, while Dubai holds the primary spot. Kerzner is thus synonymous with success and that has become an industry standard. Loved by Madiba and lauded the world over, Sol Kerzner is an inspirational icon and the poster child of success.
Trevor Manuel decides to lay down the law and it's working well for South Africa's online casino industry. Regulation South Africa's government is a firm believer in allowing online casinos to operate, provided they are firmly regulated under new laws. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel believes that by fairly taxing online casinos there will be a lower tendency for black market activity to thrive. As such the new Interactive Gaming Tax Bill has been proposed to parliament. Under the proposed legislation, gross gambling revenues will be taxed within the online gambling industry. The National Gambling Amendment Bill was passed earlier in 2008 and imposes a special tax upon sites operating within SA cyberspace. Players' protection The changes will allow South African authorities to retain control over online gambling activities. The local market will be protected by greater accountability, regulation and registration according to the proposed Bills.
Following the legalisation of online gambling in South Africa, casino gaming on the Net is growing by the day. More and more gamblers are logging on and testing out the online casino waters. But as players begin to deposit larger sums, as does the need to ensure safe and secure online payments. South African providers such as Setcom, Iveri and PayGate are no match for the service offerings of the huge international payment providers. NETELLER is the leading name in online payments, operating in 160 countries all over the world, and is the first choice of many online players when transferring finds. Click2Pay is another popular choice. There's no need to provide personal details until after registering or to transfer funds in advance. The service is available from several other countries apart from South Africa and is completely free of charge. EcoCard is another option that is also free of charge and offers the client complete anonymity. There's no limit on amounts being transferred and the service is available around the clock and in six different languages. You'll find a wide range of payment methods on offer at your online casino of choice. But one thing is sure: that the international heavyweights are sure to keep your money safe.
Someone once said there are two certainties in life - death and taxes. Following the rapid development of the South African online casino industry, and its associated rise in tourism and other industries, the government taxation machine has moved into gear. Government is currently pushing parliamentary legislation to control, monitor, and regulate this potential cash cow. The other side of the coin While direct taxation can sometimes have the effect of pushing gambling activity underground, authorities are following the clearly delineated model adopted by many advanced online gambling nations. These countries have supported direct taxation as a means of recycling profits for the general good of players and casino operators alike. Additional tax income will be assigned to protecting those vulnerable sectors of society such as under age gamblers, who are often targeted by countries where gambling activity is unregulated. The gambling tax plan The plan itself, known as the Interactive Gaming Tax Bill, involves taxing the gross gambling revenue of Internet casino companies. This "special tax," as the authorities are calling it, is part of the National Gambling Amendment Bill, which was passed by parliament in May of 2008. The government's stated objective is the protection of consumers and young people. A final comment opportunity before the bill is passed will take place on March 1, 2009, after which it is projected that the bill will be passed into law.
Bingo rooms are fun places for online gamblers and their popularity has increased in the past couple of years. When quizzed about what makes online bingo so popular the answer is as pretty as the game itself. Online bingo provides a fun-filled gaming alternative to slots and casino gambling. More than this, bingo offers many rewards and benefits such as: Fun as a community game Online chat features and interactive play Affordable small stakes gambling A game for everyone that's stood the test of time It's the bingo comeback A quick scan into the online gambling world will reveal that the game of bingo is pulling in millions of players with big jackpots and exciting bonus offers. And better yet, bingo allows for betting - large or small - or even fun plays with no real money being put down. Set within many bingo rooms are small enclaves for players to enjoy video poker and slots games. Big stakes winnings Bingo offers players free plays, fun plays and real money accounts. Winning is fun, but winning the loot really takes the cake. And that's why players are finding the bonus offers being made available very enticing indeed. Bingo jackpots are on par with big online casino payouts too. Reliable bingo rooms Players should check out bingo rooms that are licensed and regulated like Party Bingo and William Hill Bingo. Other things to look out for are around the clock customer service, guarantees in minimum monthly payouts and deposit and withdrawal options. Bingo Day is offering a particularly generous sign-up bonus so don't miss out - claim your online bingo treats!
World Poker Tour In a first-ever World Poker Tour (WPT) event, Chillipoker.com has managed to bring the most prestigious of all poker events to the African continent. This October the WPT is going to be hosted on African soil and with big name players competing for even bigger prizes, aficionados are understandably excited. Online qualifiers As early as April 2009, players from the iPoker Network will be able to pit their skills against one another as they spar to get ahead in anticipation of the big event. The feature attraction - the WPT - will take place at the Casino de Marrakech and there are whispers of a ladies tournament taking place too. As the call of poker grows on a global scale, Africa can now too lay claim to the riches of this prestigious affair. Tourism is likely to expand as the booming interest in the tournament takes root. Meanwhile it's Chillipoker.com and World Poker Tour Enterprises that have signed, sealed and delivered a three year exclusive partnership that will be bringing this event to Africa. Big advertising In addition to massive press in the online sector, the deal will allow the partners to create televised broadcasts, including satellite tournaments on Chillipoker.com and other renowned poker rooms in the ipoker network. Morocco will be bustling with the press coverage and journalists that are already itching to gain the scoop on this year's big poker event. And if you can't make it to Marrakech, you can still take part in the poker action as there are plenty of online poker rooms to choose from where you can play out your dreams of poker pro stardom.
Currently in South Africa there is somewhat of a regulatory void, with no clear law regulating online gambling in the country. This has brought South Africans to initiate one such law, the proposed regulations of which were published in February. Public comments followed. Under the proposed regulations, any operator that works illegally will not be allowed to apply for a license once these are handed out. No license means no lawful right to operate and advertise. Provided that public comments do not change the regulations entirely, the law should pass in a few months time. Then South African players will have to open a designated account with a South African bank, which will be used for online gaming only. Oftentimes it is the payment methods that are the way to regulate and control online gambling. And so this option will be employed in South Africa. Only credit cards can be used to make payments with limits of funds in the accounts.Ten online licenses are likely to be handed as a first step once regulations pass, to South African operators. Currently, the South African market of online casinos, poker and sports betting is growing steady and is estimated at between R400m and R1bn.
South African-based Phumelela Gold Enterprises has signed an agreement with 888 Holdings that will bring it an online sportsbook followed by other online games later in 2009, news agencies reported last week. The strategic partnership brings together PGE, one of the world's largest horseracing and tote betting companies , and Dragonfish, the independent B2B division of 888 holdings. Dragonfish will initially provide PGE with a comprehensive sportsbook. Casino, poker and bingo games will be introduced once expected regulations come into force in South Africa. There is somewhat of a regulatory void in South Africa at present, although it is expected this will be cleared up soon, given that it is three months since the South African government published a proposal to regulate online gambling.
When Leonardo DiCaprio played in Blood Diamond, the entire world was exposed to the diamond business - from the mines to the intricate dealings across Africa and the world. Similar exposure is expected for online gambling, once the Hollywood star's new movie will be released, in a time yet to be determined. Leonardo DiCaprio will star in a Paramount Pictures movie about online casinos in Costa Rica, where high profile online casinos are based and from where they cater to the North American gambling market. Many movies have caused such marketing hypes for the industry in past years, the most recent of them is "21" about the famous MIT students team that utilized a card counting strategy to make millions in Las Vegas casinos blackjack.