Apex court declares gambling levies unconstitutional
The increased gambling levies imposed on casino operators such as Sun International are unconstitutional, which means the North West Provincial Government must now pay back millions of rand to the operators.
This was the finding of the Constitutional Court yesterday, reports BusinessLIVE.
In 2022, the Casino Association of SA (Casa), supported by Peermont and Sun International, successfully challenged the law that allowed the North West MEC of Economic Development Kenetswe Mosenogi to increase gambling levies.
The High Court agreed and found the the North West Gambling Act was unconstitutional.
Casa approached the Constitutional Court in 2023 because only the apex court can certify a finding that legislation is unconstitutional.
Peermont and Sun International also asked the court to order the provincial government to pay back the unlawful levy increases they had paid over two years.
Writing for a unanimous court, Acting Justice Tati Makgoka ruled that ‘the levies imposed are revenue-generating charges, whose purpose is to raise funds for the province’.
But this has ‘nothing to do with the North West Gambling Act or regulating gambling’.
As such, the levies, which ran into millions, were invalid.
The MEC for Economic Development & Treasury were ordered to pay back the levies imposed on both casino operators. The exact amount has yet to be calculated.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
