South Africa has had a long and rocky road with gambling in the past. There was a time of prohibition when it was outlawed altogether, when the only action you could find was a private game in somebody's back room. This was hardly ideal.

Later, Sol Kerzner gave us the legendary Sun City and a number of other Sun International resorts, the primary draws of which were casino gambling served up at an international level (and one or two other spicy items you wouldn't otherwise see without stars on their nipples). Finally we had legal access to exciting gaming - although almost none of it was on our doorsteps.

For legal reasons, none of the casinos were actually in South Africa itself, they were all in places like Swaziland and Lesotho which were merely more accessible to South Africans. To get to one, you would have to drive for hours, meaning you would definitely have to stay in the hotel once you got there. This wasn't something you could just nip off for the day and do, there had to be planning involved.

The dawning of the new South Africa and the advent of the Internet as a common utility has completely changed the playing field. We began to see licensed venues appearing in major city centres such as the Grand West in Cape Town and Caesar's Palace in Johannesburg. But more interestingly, we started to see South Africans playing at online casinos in ever greater numbers.

South Africans quickly realised the many benefits of playing at an online casino. When you play online, you don't have to drive for kilometres and kilometres to the nearest land-based club where, let's face it, some skollie would probably stick an AK-47 in your face in the parking lot as you came out and relieve you of your winnings. This is South Africa after all.

When you play online, you don't have to deal with loud cheesy music (unless that's what's playing on your hi-fi), and you don't have to deal with some drunk person blowing smoke in your face from across the table. You get to enjoy all of the action and excitement that a casino provides from the comfort and safety of your own home.

Piggs Peak was probably the first casino based in southern Africa to offer its games to players over the Internet, and it quickly became apparent that they were onto a good thing - online gaming is a huge growth sector in Southern Africa. There is now a growing list of international online casinos that recognise South African players, not just by allowing them to play, but by allowing them to use Rands both as a deposit and play currency.

This indicates that the big operators realise the potential of the SA Online Gambling market. We are even starting to see big international companies setting up local domain names. It's an exciting time for fans of online gaming because the offerings they provide to South African players get better every day. And the accessibility that Internet provides means that all South Africans can play.