By Khanyisa Khenese
Slot gambling machines – many of them suspected to be illegal – are spreading like wildfire in Makhanda spaza shops.
Grocott’s Mail has witnessed children as young as 10 gambling on the machines.
The National Gambling Act 7 (2004) forbids children under 18 to partake in gambling and or even enter a place with such machines.
Several spaza shop owners told Grocott’s Mail that they did not have their own licenses to operate the machines and were unaware that children are prohibited from gambling.
One parent said she didn’t see anything wrong with her children gambling “as long they don’t spend more than R2”.
Research by the UK Gambling Commission indicates that children gamble to make money and because it is fun, but that they are at risk of psychological and behavioural issues.
According to Game Quitters, young people involved in gambling are more likely to drop out of school and engage in criminal activities and violence.
The machines work by inserting coins into a slot and pressing a button that activates a set of spinning symbols on the wheel.
A slot gambling machine recently spotted in a Joza spaza shop. Photo: Luvuyo Mjekula
The machines are distributed and installed by an unidentified man described by one spaza shop owner as “a guy from China”. Whether this man has a license to operate the slot machines on multiple sites is unclear.
Pumeza George, a communication specialist for the Eastern Cape Gambling Board (ECGB), said the ECGB had partnered with the police and other stakeholders to identify illegal gambling in Makhanda.
“We conducted sweeps and confiscated illegal machines in July,” she said.
“A thorough investigation and raid will be done by the board’s team to eradicate illegal gambling in Makhanda,” she promised.
The National Gambling Board oversees regulations of the National Gambling Act, Act 7 of 2004, and assists the SA Police Services (SAPS) with anti-gambling operations.
Makhanda SAPS spokesperson, Captain Marius McCarthy, from Sarah Baartman District, said police conducted weekly compliance inspections at spaza shops and other business premises in the city.
“Gambling machines found at unlicensed businesses are confiscated, and cases opened, or fines issued by the National Gambling Board,” McCarthy said.
However, Grocott’s Mail was informed by a trusted source that raids and operations are conducted weekly only in the town areas, not in the townships.
This leaves township children exposed to the machines.
Meanwhile, in Extension 6, some residents told Grocott’s Mail that they liked the machines.
“I didn’t have taxi fare, but I had R2 and gambled on the machines. I won R28, and now I can go to town and buy paraffin,” one said.
