Lurie Inc is the oldest niche gambling law practice in South Africa, having been founded by Wayne Lurie more than 20 years ago.
Our firm is held in high regard by both operators and regulators alike and has been consulted extensively on the drafting of gambling legislation both in South Africa and further afield. Our founder was invited in 2005 to sit on a special committee established under the 2004 Gambling Act to advise the then Minister of Trade and Industry of South Africa on gambling law reform. Latterly, the same founder was consulted extensively by a Member of South African Parliament on his Private Member’s Bill on gambling reform. In addition, we have consulted at the highest levels of government in various African jurisdictions on gambling law reform.
There are few major South African gambling projects that our firm has not been consulted on. We have also been involved in licensing applications and consulting on operating aspects in numerous international jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Malta, Germany and other EU member states where online gambling has been liberalised.
Our firm has an excellent track record of success too in the management and referral of disputes surrounding the administration of gambling laws and challenging their mistaken application, as well as in general dispute resolution and litigation covering all aspects of the gambling industry.
This is a question we are often asked. Simply put, gambling law as a field is a confluence or crossover of private and public law involving aspects of corporate, commercial and contract law as much as regulatory, administrative and constitutional law.
In South Africa, the gambling industry is arguably the most rigorously regulated industry sector just by virtue of the sheer number of regulators, with a national gambling regulator (executing a predominantly oversight and policy function) and nine provincial regulators each regulating gambling affairs within their provincial borders. With the advent of online betting, provincial licensees have extended their services beyond their provincial borders and a level of comity has, of necessity, developed between provincial regulators.
Online gambling in South Africa has developed primarily as a result of interpretation of almost 30-year-old existing legislation by the regulators and this gives rise to numerous challenges and the need for expert interpretation and guidance in the absence of specific legislation to cater for this technological innovation.
While lotteries are traditionally forms of gambling, the regulation of lotteries falls to one national regulator and is governed by a different statute from all other forms of gambling.
Our expertise lies in understanding the interplay of all the statutes addressing, as well as surrounding, gambling and most importantly how these statutes are interpreted and practically applied by the regulators responsible for administrating the complex tapestry of applicable law. We remain continuously abreast of all the developments in our field and pass the benefit of this specialist expertise onto our clients.
