Eastern Cape Gambling Board defies ministerial order to halt cockfighting bets

(Screenshots from Roosterbet website)

16 Apr 2025

The Eastern Cape Gambling Board is defying a directive from the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition to halt the promotion of cockfighting bets by a South African bookmaker, raising a worrying legislative issue.

At the heart of the storm is a bookmaker – referred to as Roosterbet – which has been offering South African gamblers the chance to bet on live-streamed cockfights held in the Philippines.

While cockfighting is illegal in South Africa under the Animals Protection Act and despite a 2022 ban on online cockfighting (known as e-sabong) in the Philippines itself, the Eastern Cape Gambling Board (ECGB) insists that bets placed from South Africa on these fights are legal.

Screenshots from the Roosterbet website.

The stance has been met with outrage by the NSPCA and annoyance from the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition.

Gone rogue

The ECGB’s refusal to enforce national legislation and heed the minister’s order exposes a possible gap in South Africa’s regulatory framework, which is being exploited to support animal abuse.

The controversy began in December 2024 when the NSPCA sent a formal warning to Roosterbet, flagging its online promotion and streaming of cockfights as a violation of animal cruelty laws. The ECGB and the National Gambling Board were copied in the communication.

Roosterbet initially claimed it would take immediate corrective action. Its CEO assured the NSPCA that all cockfighting-related content would be removed while the company sought clarity from the ECGB.

That clarity came on 9 December 2024. In a letter to the NSPCA, ECGB CEO Mabutho Zwane waved away concerns, saying that because the cockfighting events were happening in the Philippines, they were outside the jurisdiction of South African law. The ECGB argued that Roosterbet’s acceptance of bets on these events constituted a “lawful contingency” under the Eastern Cape Gambling Act.

However, not only does Section 2A(1)(c) of the Animals Protection Act make it illegal to promote animal fighting for gain or amusement, but the Philippine government itself outlawed online cockfighting in 2022 due to concerns about gambling addiction, organised crime and brutality. But organised cockfights themselves are still legal and well attended.

When the ECGB stood firm, the NSPCA escalated the issue to the national level by submitting a formal complaint to Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau. The message was clear: a provincial gambling authority was enabling illegal animal cruelty for profit.

The minister responded by siding unequivocally with the NSPCA, saying that both the National Gambling Act and the Animals Protection Act had been violated and that the acceptance of bets on cockfighting – regardless of where the fights occurred – was unlawful.

Tau’s office committed to taking the matter to the National Gambling Policy Council, the body responsible for provincial gambling regulation. He also instructed the ECGB to order Roosterbet to cease offering bets on cockfighting.

But the ECGB refused to back down. In a clearly defiant letter, Zwane rejected the minister’s interpretation. He argued that the Animals Protection Act applied only within South Africa’s borders and that betting on foreign cockfights did not constitute a contravention.

The ECGB claimed that the directive from the minister constituted a matter “open to debate” – a direct challenge to the national authority responsible for regulating gambling across the country.

Betting on blood

Cockfighting – often referred to as a blood sport – is brutal by design. Birds are fitted with sharp blades on their legs and forced to fight to the death, often for the amusement and profit of onlookers. The violence is not incidental – it’s the main attraction.

Cockfighting represents a substantial economic force in the Philippines. The industry is estimated to be worth billions of dollars, with around 2,500 dedicated arenas nationwide and 30 million roosters participating annually. These events attract large crowds, fostering a robust betting environment where wagers can range from modest sums to large amounts.

The NSPCA has now compiled damning evidence against Roosterbet, including screenshots of its promotional materials, video recordings of streamed fights and betting slips showing odds for different birds.

This position is supported not only by domestic legislation, but also by the global understanding of cockfighting as a form of animal cruelty. That it continues under the protection of a provincial board calls into question the integrity of South Africa’s gambling oversight structures.

“If a bookmaker had taken bets on dogfighting, would the ECGB be defending them just as vehemently?” an NSPCA spokesperson asked. “This is not just a lapse in judgement – it’s an ethical and legal failure of epic proportions.”

Daily Maverick emailed the ECGB chair Zwane, asking for the board’s side of the story, but at the time of publication, no response had been received after two weeks.

Challenge to authority

What makes this situation uniquely troubling is the ECGB’s challenge to national authority. In most regulatory frameworks, a provincial body is subordinate to national legislation and interpretation. Yet here, the ECGB appears to be charting its own course, contradicting a minister’s reading of the law and daring national authorities to stop the board.

This has wider implications for governance and the rule of law. If a statutory body can ignore national legislation, what’s to stop other provincial regulators from doing the same in sectors like healthcare, education or finance?

“The ECGB’s actions not only make a mockery of animal welfare, but also of South Africa’s constitutional order,” said legal analyst Thandi Maseko. “This is not just about cockfighting – it’s about who gets to interpret and enforce the law in South Africa.”

Legal action

The NSPCA has made it clear: this fight is far from over. It is exploring legal options and has called on civil society to demand action. Legal experts and society are being urged to raise their voices, pressure the ECGB and call for Minister Tau to take further action, potentially including the dismissal of ECGB leadership.

“This is a matter of national interest,” the NSPCA said. “It is no longer just about a rogue bookmaker. It is about a regulatory board that has decided it is above the law.”

The organisation has also highlighted the dangerous precedent of blood sports becoming normalised, hidden behind jurisdictional loopholes. Whether the National Gambling Policy Council can bring the ECGB into line remains to be seen, but the pressure is mounting. DM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REeWvTRUpMk

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Gone rogue

Betting on blood

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