Battle over eBet betting licence taken to PM’s Office
MBABANE – The fight for the eBet betting licence has been escalated to the Office of the Prime Minister. The South African operators of the betting licence and the Maziya family that was granted in favour of Swazi Bet (Pty) Ltd, trading as eBet, have since filed an appeal against the ruling of the Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Jane Mkhonta.
The minister, in her ruling, ordered that Nonjabuliso Maziya is the rightful person to be the holder of the betting licence.
The South Africans, Ioannis Calavitis and Willem Delport, as well as the Maziya family, filed their appeal at the Office of the Prime Minister.
Their attorney, Sibusiso Shongwe of Sbusiso B Shongwe and Associates, said they believed that the minister misdirected herself.
According to Shongwe, the minister should have take the licence of a joint venture, that was issued with the blessing of the Gaming Control Board and the former minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Moses Vilakati, and give it to Nonjabuliso.
VentuRe
The joint venture, according to Shongwe, is Swazi Bet (Pty) Ltd, trading as eBet.
He said what Minister Mkhonta did did not make sense.
“What does she say about the investments of these people which went into the licence?
“She did not delve into that. I think the minister has been ill-advised and misdirected.
“There are facts that were not well considered which we presented before her.
“That’s why we are taking the matter to the next level.
“Taking the matter to the next level means the minister’s decision is stayed automatically.
“We will wait for the prime minister to decide the matter and give us direction,” said Shongwe.
He added that a licence is not granted to an individual but a company, which has an authorised representative. In this case, said Shongwe, the minister gave the licence to an individual.
The attorney said the minister also allowed Nonjabuliso to change the name from eBet to 8Bet.
“The question is, how did the minister know about 8Bet?” Shongwe wondered.
The minister ordered the Gaming Control Board to determine whether the effect of changing the trading name from eBet to 8Bet meets the requirements of the Gaming Control Act.
The original holder of the betting licence, the late Mduduzi Maziya, incorporated the company Swazi Bet (Pty) Ltd. The company was granted a bookmarkers (sports betting) licence by the Gaming Control Board.
CommenCe
The company did not commence trading during the lifetime of Mduduzi, who passed on in 2020.
Soon after his demise, his son Mxolisi Maziya operationalised the company to trade and was registered as the responsible person for purposes of licensing and attending to all the trading requirements of the company licence.
Mxolisi also died and that is when a squabble of who should now take over as the principal officer ensued. Shongwe represented the Calivitis,
Delport and the Maziya family in the matter and they disputed that Nonjabuliso was Mduduzi’s wife.
Mlungisi Khumalo of Khumalo Attorneys appeared for Nonjabuliso.
Last year the betting licence relating to who is the rightful holder came before the Gaming Control Board.
The Chairperson of the Board, Simo Simelane, partially upheld Nonjabuliso’s objection to Calivitis and Delport renewing the betting licence.
Simelane held the objection only to the extent of her, at face value, being the surviving spouse to the late Mduduzi and as an eligible person for vetting on the basis of her marriage certificate.
He also ruled that Nonjabuliso and a selected party among the respondents (Sibusiso B. Shongwe and Associates, Calivitis, Delport and Maziya family) were granted provisional renewal of the SwaziBet t/a eBet licence for a period of four months reckoned from the date of the expiry of the current provisional licence.
Former Minister Moses Vilakati, after considering arguments on appeal by parties, said he did not have powers to declare a marriage bigamous.
assisted
The former minister said the Ministry of Home Affairs had not assisted him by holding that the marriage certificate was fraudulent.
The Gaming Board’s decision, according to the former minister, that the parties must furnish it with the name of someone appointed as executor/executrix, should be juxtaposed against the surrounding facts of the matter in that there should be proof from all the parties that the next-of-kin was properly advertised and the master considered all objections before the said executrix/ executor was appointed.
He pointed out that the parties were at loggerheads as highlighted by the Gaming Board’s decision on who should hold the licence.
Vilakati stated that no evidence was presented that Nonjabuliso’s appointment as executrix was set aside, save for that it had to be formalised with Letters of Administration as held by the Gaming Board.