National Gambling Board v Free State Gambling Board and Others

The Free State Gambling and Racing Board invited applications in 1998 for special licences to operate slot machines for a period of one year, despite the absence of national regulations prescribing maximum numbers of gambling machines and before the establishment of a central electronic monitoring system as required by the National Gambling Act 33 of 1996. The National Gambling Board supported an application by the Free State Board in the High Court for a declaratory order that such licences could not lawfully be issued. The High Court dismissed that application, held that special licences under section 38 of the Free State Gambling and Racing Act 6 of 1996 were exempt from the rest of the Act and from the National Gambling Act, and granted a counter-application compelling the Free State Board to consider the pending licence applications. The National Gambling Board sought leave to appeal, which was refused by the High Court on the basis that it lacked locus standi. The matter came before the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Leave to appeal was granted. The appeal succeeded. The High Court’s order was set aside and replaced with an order declaring that the Free State Gambling Board was not entitled to consider or award the special slot machine licences applied for, and dismissing the counter-application compelling it to do so. Costs of appeal were awarded against certain respondents.

The case clarifies the relationship between national and provincial gambling regulation under concurrent legislative competence. It affirms that provincial licensing authorities must comply with national norms, standards, and regulatory preconditions, and that ‘special licences’ cannot be used to circumvent statutory safeguards. The judgment is also significant for its exposition of locus standi, confirming that a statutory regulatory body with oversight and standard-setting functions has standing to appeal even if it cannot itself grant licences.