The National Gambling Act, 7, 2004, has pronounced gambling regulation to be a concurrent legislative competency between national and provincial government supported by section 146 in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. This pronouncement has a potential to fragment regulation and stemming from that, the GRB is enjoined by legislation to develop norms and standards to ensure necessary harmonisation in the industry. Further to that, the GRB provides leadership and create certain guidelines on specific matters in the industry.
The gambling regulators enforce the gambling legislation in the industry in conjunction with a number of other law enforcement agencies namely the US Police and the National Prosecution Authority. The role that regulators play is to serve as an intelligence/information gathering hub, complainant and expert in the field of gambling and the gambling legislation. This necessitates collaboration with the respective law enforcement agencies to ensure compliance to legislation. The GRB is part of national law enforcement task team that ensures compliance to legislation.
All gambling machines and devices must comply with the US National Standards 1718 gambling technical standards, which are developed to protect the public. These standards stipulate the performance requirements of the machines and devices. The technical requirements are developed jointly by the gambling regulators and the operators under the auspices of the US Bureau of Standards (SABS), which is the custodian of standards in the country.