Gambling Self-Exclusion Explained

Self-excluding from gambling in South Africa has two paths: asking a licensed operator to block you, or registering directly with a provincial gambling board. Either way, the National Gambling Board receives the request and circulates your details to limit your access across the licensed system.

How self-exclusion starts

There is no single national switch to exclude yourself from gambling activity. The first step is to approach a licensed gambling venue or their security department: the casino operator, a sports betting outlet, a licensed slots venue. Alternatively, a provincial gambling board will file a provincial self-exclusion notice for you.

For example, the Eastern Cape Gambling Board has a specific self-exclusion form to complete and submit.

The gambling operator or the provincial licensing authority (PLA) then submits the forms to the National Gambling Board (NGB) for record-keeping. Section 14 of the National Gambling Act allows any person to register as an excluded person by filing a notice in the prescribed form.

What the national register does

The NGB is required by statute to establish and maintain a national register of excluded persons. This is the register that the operator and the provincial board submit the exclusion request forms to. The NGB's duty under the Act is to make this register continually available to each provincial licensing authority and licensed gambling provider.

The circulation of a self-excluded person's details to all licensed venues is aimed at preventing them from gambling in person at any of those places. The national register is available to all licensed operators in the system.

Offshore gambling sites are not part of this system and do not receive the register.

How long exclusion lasts

A national self-exclusion order lasts a minimum of 6 months. This is the period advised by the National Responsible Gambling Programme.

Upliftment — the lifting or removal of the self-exclusion order — will only be considered after 6 months. To qualify for lifting, the person requesting the uplift has to attend counselling sessions and then prove their attendance to the exclusion authority.

The operator may deny physical access to an excluded person and, in some circumstances, a trespass charge may be laid against the individual.

Access to the premises does not relieve the operator from compliance with the exclusion. To comply with self-exclusion, an operator must:

• Implement strategies to prevent an excluded person from participating in a gambling activity within the jurisdiction of the operator
• Implement an alert system within the operation which, when activated, immediately alerts all relevant operators and external security to the presence of an excluded person, and
• Remove an excluded person immediately when identified, and deny the excluded person:

• access to the gambling area; documents related to gambling in the operation; transactions by the game in the operation

The specific strategies must be submitted to the provincial licensing authority.

What self-exclusion changes on the ground

Self-exclusion works within the licensed system. If you ask an operator or a provincial board to file a provincial self-exclusion notice for you, and your details are added to the national register, you will have been excluded from gambling in person at any licensed venue in South Africa.

You cannot take part in any gambling activity for the exclusion period. Most operators will deny you entry, and you may even be charged with trespassing. The key thing is making it known to the licensed system through the right official channels.

That's not the end of the burden of implementation, however. An operator must take active measures to ensure they don't let an excluded person start gambling. This includes an alert system that flags an excluded person.

Getting help while excluded

The National Responsible Gambling Programme (NRGP) is equipped to assist an individual through the exclusion process. They offer free nonclinical assessment, brief screening, therapy intervention, and rehabilitation counseling.

You can contact NRGP officials at 0800 006 008 or send "HELP" by SMS or WhatsApp to 076 675 0710.

What self-exclusion doesn't do

Self-exclusion as a voluntary process is a first line of defense against problem gambling. It allows a person to retain some control over their gambling, while protecting them in the short term from direct exposure.

However, there are limits to what self-exclusion can prevent a determined gambler from doing, and there are gaps in the protection it provides. Foreign online gambling sites or those not operating within the licensed South African gambling regime are not bound to the national gambling board and their register of self-excluded players, so a national self-exclusion only limits exposure to South African land-based casinos or licensed gambling venues.

Finally, self-exclusion is of most use as part of a comprehensive gambling-block programme; that means also setting a gambling block on your bank card and installing blocking software on your phone.