DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION

  1. “Mpumalanga Economic Regulator” means Mpumalanga Economic Regulator established in terms of section 2 of the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator Act, 2017 (Act No. 2 of 2017),
  2. “MER website” means the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator website located at www.MER.org.za and includes any part or element thereof;
  3. “User” means any person who enters or uses the MER website, notwithstanding the fact that such a person only visited the home page of the MER website;
  4. “the MER” means the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator;
  5. References herein to the singular includes the plural and vice versa; and
  6. Notwithstanding the fact that hyperlinks in these terms and conditions to copyright notices and legislation should be deemed part of these terms and conditions in terms of section 11 of the ECT Act, the fact that some or all of the hyperlinks may be non-operational, shall not play a role in determination of the validity and interpretation of these terms and conditions.
  1. GENERAL

MER was established in 2017 as a regulatory body to provide for control over gambling and liquor in the Mpumalanga Province and to provide for matters connected therewith.

  1. ALLOWED USE
    1. MER allows the User to view, download and print the content of the MER website, provided that such content is used for personal, educational and/or non-commercial purposes only.
    2. Content from the MER website shall not be used or exploited by Users for any commercial and non-private purposes without the prior written consent of MER and any reproduction of the content from this website, or portion thereof. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Users may only access and use the MER website for legal purposes.
  1. The caching of the MER website shall only be allowed if:
    1. The purpose of the caching is to make the onward transmission of the content from the MER website more efficient;
    2. The cached content is not modified in any manner whatsoever;
  • The cached content is updated at least every 12 (twelve) hours; and
  1. The cached content is removed or updated when so required by MER.
  1. If any User uses content from the MER website in breach of the provisions detailed herein:
    1. MER reserves the right to claim damages from the User;
    2. MER reserves the right to institute criminal proceedings against the User; and
  • MER shall not be liable, in any manner whatsoever, for any damage, loss or liability that resulted from the use of such content by the User or any third party who obtained any content from the User.
  1. Hyperlinks to the MER website from any other source shall be directed at the home page of the MER website. The MER shall not be liable, in any manner whatsoever, for any damage, loss or liability that resulted from the use of content from the MER website, if such content was accessed through a hyperlink not directed at the home page of the MER website. Persons that wish to link to content beyond the home page of the MER website shall do so at their own risk and indemnify MER against any loss, liability or damage that may result from the use of content from the MER website, if such content was accessed through a hyperlink not directed at the home page of the MER website.

MER non-liability for deep linking is based on the fact that deep links bypass these terms and conditions.

  • Users may quote small and reasonable amounts of content available from the MER website only if such quote is placed in inverted commas and acknowledged.
  • No person may frame the MER website, in any manner whatsoever, without the prior written consent of MER.
  1. Apart from bona-fide search engine operators and use of the search facility provided on the MER website by Users, no person may use or attempt to use any technology or applications (including web crawlers or web spiders) to search or copy content from the MER website for any purposes, without the prior written consent of MER.
  2. All licenses and/or permissions granted in terms of this clause 2 are provided on a non-exclusive and non-transferable basis and may be terminated or cancelled by MER at any time without giving reasons therefore.
  • INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND DOMAIN NAME USE
    1. All intellectual property on the MER website, including but not limited to content, trademarks, domain names, patents, design elements, software, databases, text, graphics, icons and hyperlinks are the property of or licensed to MER and as such, are protected from infringement by domestic and international legislation and treaties. Subject to the rights of the User in terms of clause 2, all other rights to intellectual property on the MER website are expressly reserved.
  1. SOFTWARE AND EQUIPMENT
    It is the responsibility of the User to acquire and maintain, at his/her own expense, the computer hardware, software, lines and access accounts required to access the Internet and the MER website and/or download content from this website.
  2. DISCLOSURES REQUIRED BY SECTION 43 OF THE ECT ACT
    Access to the services, content, software and content downloads available from the MER website is classified as “electronic transactions” in terms of the ECT Act and therefore Users have the rights detailed in Chapter 7 of the ECT Act and MER has the duty to disclose the following information:

    1. The full name and legal status of the website owner: Mpumalanga Economic Regulator
    2. Street address: First Avenue, White River;
  • Postal address: Private Bag X9908, White River, 1240;
  1. Physical address for receipt of legal service: First Avenue, White River;
  2. Main business: The main business of MER is detailed at: www.mer.org.za
  3. The website address of the MER website is: www.mer.org.za
  • The official e-mail addresses of the MER website are: ceo@mer.org.za;
  • Membership of self-regulatory or accreditation bodies: None;
  1. Codes of conduct to which the MER website subscribes: None;
  2. Board members: The Board members of MER are available from: www.mer.org.za/live/about-us/#board-members
  3. Main business of the MER:  The MER regulates and controls gambling and liquor in the Mpumalanga Province to ensure fairness, honesty and integrity in the gambling and liquor industries and to protect the public against illegal and unscrupulous practices. The MER performs all the functions assigned to it in terms of the Mpumalanga Gambling Act, 1995 (Act No.5 of 1995), as amended, the Mpumalanga Gambling Regulations and Rules, as well as the Mpumalanga Gambling Levies Act, 2007 (Act No. 5 of 2007) and Gambling Levies Regulations and makes recommendations to the Member of the Executive Council responsible for gambling in the Province (the Department of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism) on any matter relating to the control of gambling in Mpumalanga. The Mpumalanga Gambling and Liquor legislation may be downloaded from: www.mer.org.zat/legislation/
  • The Manual published in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 of the owner of the MER website may be downloaded from: www.mer.org.za/live/paia-manual/;
  • Management: The management profile of MER is available from: www.mer.org.za/live/about-us/#management
  • The costs associated with the access and use of the MER website the Product can be obtained from the MER;
  1. Payment methods: Electronic Transfer, Debit Order or Cheque Deposit;
  • Delivery costs: Costs of postage or courier;
  • Taxes: All costs, fees or levies are inclusive of VAT, unless the contrary is indicated;
  • Records of transactions: A full record of a transaction concluded from the website will be e-mailed on request;
  • Alternative dispute resolution: Subject to urgent and/or interim relief, all disputes regarding:
    1. access to the MER website;
    2. the inability to access the MER website;
  • the services and content available from the MER website; or
  1. these terms and conditions,
    shall be referred to arbitration in terms of the expedited rules of the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa and such arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in White River in English. The arbitration ruling shall be final and the unsuccessful party shall pay the costs of the successful party on a scale as between attorney and own client. The expedited rules of the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa may be downloaded from the following website: www.arbitration.co.za;
  1. Cooling-off period: In terms of the operation of section 42(2)(d) of the ECT Act, the cooling-off provisions of the ECT Act do apply to this website; and
  • Users may lodge complaints concerning the MER website with MER at +27 (0) 13 750 8000 (Tel) and ceo@MER.org.za(E-Mail Address).
  1. CHANGES AND AMENDMENTS
    MER expressly reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to do any of the following, at any time without prior notice:

    1. change these terms and conditions;
    2. change the content and/or services available from the MER website;
  • discontinue any aspect of the MER website or service(s) available from the MER website; and/or
  1. change the software and hardware required to access and use the MER website.
  • PRIVACY
    1. MER shall take all reasonable steps to protect the personal information of Users and for the purpose of this clause, “personal information” shall be defined as detailed in the Protection of Personal Information (“POPI”) Act, 2013 (Act No. 4 of 2013), read with the Promotion of Access to Information (“PAIA”) Act, 2000 (Act No. 2 of 2000), as amended.
    2. MER may electronically collect, store and use the following personal information of Users:
      1. name and surname;
      2. contact numbers;
  • non-personal browsing habits and click patterns;
  1. e-mail address; and
  2. IP address.
  • MER collects, stores and uses the abovementioned information for the following purposes:
    1. communicate requested information to the User; and
    2. to compile non-personal statistical information about browsing habits, click-patterns and access to the MER website.
  1. Information detailed above is collected either electronically by using cookies or is provided voluntarily by the User. Users may determine cookie use independently through their browser settings.
  2. MER may collect, maintain, save, compile, share, disclose and sell any information collected from users, subject to the following provisions:
    1. MER shall not disclose personal information from Users unless the User consents thereto;
    2. MER shall disclose information without the User’s consent only through due legal process; and
  • MER may compile, use and share any information that does not relate to any specific individual.
  1. MER owns and retains all rights to non-personal statistical information collected and compiled by MER.
  • HYPERLINKS TO THIRD PARTY SITES
    1. MER may provide hyperlinks to websites not controlled by MER (target sites) and such links do not imply any endorsement, agreement on or support for the content of such target sites; and
    2. MER does not editorially control the content on such target sites and shall not be liable, in any manner whatsoever, for the access to, inability to access or content available on or through such target sites.
  1. SECURITY
    1. MER shall take all reasonable steps to secure the content of the MER website and the information provided by and collected from Users from unauthorised access and/or disclosure. However, MER does not make any warranties or representations that content shall be 100% safe and secure;
    2. MER is under no legal duty to encrypt any content or communications from and to the MER website and is also under no legal duty to provide digital authentication of any page on the MER website;
  • Users may not deliver or attempt to deliver, whether on purpose or negligently, any damaging code, such as computer viruses, to the MER website or the server and computer network that support the MER website. Notwithstanding criminal prosecution, any person who delivers any damaging code to the MER website, whether on purpose or negligently, shall, without any limitation, indemnify and hold MER harmless against any and all liability, damages and losses MER and its partners / affiliates may suffer as a result of such damaging code;
  1. Users may not develop, distribute or use any device to breach or overcome the security measures of the Product and MER reserves the right to claim damages any and all persons concerned with a security failure or breach; and
  2. Any User who commits any of the offences detailed in sections 85 to 88 of the ECT Act shall, notwithstanding criminal prosecution, be liable for all resulting liability, loss or damages suffered and/or incurred by MER and its partners / affiliates.
  1. DISCLAIMER AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
    1. Subject to the provisions of sections 43(5) and 43(6) of the ECT Act, if applicable, and as far as allowed by law, MER (including its owners, employees, suppliers, Internet service providers, partners, affiliates and agents) shall not be liable for any damage, loss or liability of any nature incurred by whomever and resulting from:
      1. access to the MER website;
      2. access to websites linked to the MER website;
  • inability to access the MER website;
  1. inability to access websites linked to the MER website;
  2. content available on the MER website;
  3. services available from the MER website;
  • downloads and use of content from the MER website;
  • any other reason not directly related to MER gross negligence.
  1. The MER website is supplied on an “as is” basis and has not been compiled to meet the User’s individual requirements. It is the responsibility of the User to satisfy himself or herself, prior to entering into this agreement with MER, that the content available from and through the MER website meet the User’s individual requirements and is compatible with the User’s computer hardware and/or software.
  • Information, ideas and opinions expressed on the MER website should not be regarded as professional advice or the official opinion of MER and Users are encouraged to consult professional advice before taking any course of action related to the information, ideas or opinions expressed on the MER website.
  1. MER does not make any warranties or representation that content and services available from the MER website will in all cases be true, correct or free from any errors. MER shall take all reasonable steps to ensure the quality and accuracy of content available from the MER website.
  2. MER does not make any warranties or representations that the MER website shall be available at all times. Users acknowledge that the MER website may be unavailable due to updates or other causes beyond the reasonable control of MER, including, but not limited to virus infection, unauthorised access, power failure or other “acts of God”.
  1. REMOVAL AND CORRECTION OF CONTENT
    Users are encouraged to report untrue, inaccurate, defamatory, illegal, infringing and/or harmful content available from the MER website to MER and MER undertakes to correct and/or remove such content or any part thereof if the person reporting such content provided reasonable grounds to prove the alleged nature of the content.
  • INTERCEPTION OF COMMUNICATIONS
    1. Subject to the provisions of the Regulation of Interception of Communications (“RIC”) Act, 2002 (Act No. 70 of 2002), as amended, the User agrees to MER’ right to intercept, block, filter, read, delete, disclose and use all communications send or posted by the User to the MER website, its staff and employees; and
    2. The User agrees and acknowledges that the consent provided by the User in clause 12.1 satisfies the “writing” requirement as detailed in the ECT Act and the RIC Act.
  • ENTIRE AGREEMENT AND SEVERABILITY
    1. Subject to the provisions of the Content Use License, these terms and conditions constitute the entire agreement between MER and the User and shall take precedent over any disclaimers and/or legal notices attached to any communications and/or postings received by MER from the User.
    2. Any failure by MER to exercise or enforce any right or provision shall in no way constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
  • In the event that any term or condition detailed herein is found unenforceable or invalid for any reason, such term(s) or condition(s) shall be severable from the remaining terms and conditions. The remaining terms and conditions shall remain enforceable and applicable.
  • AGREEMENT IN TERMS OF SECTION 21 OF THE ECT ACT
    The User and MER agree that:

    1. the User shall be bound to these term and conditions and such agreement is concluded in Johannesburg (South Africa) at the time the User enters the MER website for the first time or immediately after the User indicated consent as required in Content Use Agreement;
    2. data messages (as defined in the ECT Act) addressed by the User to MER shall only be deemed to have been received if and when responded to;
  • data messages (as defined in the ECT Act) addressed to the User by MER shall be deemed to be received by the User as detailed in section 23(b) of the ECT Act;
  1. data messages (as defined in the ECT Act) addressed by the User to MER shall be deemed to have been created and send by the User from within the geographical boundaries of South Africa;
  2. electronic signatures, encryption and/or authentication is not required for valid electronic communications between the User and MER; and
  3. the User agrees and warrants that data messages that are sent to MER from a computer, IP address or mobile device normally used by or owned by the User, was sent and/or authorised by the User personally.
  1. APPLICABLE AND GOVERNING LAW
    Subject to clause 5.13, the MER website is hosted, controlled and operated from the Republic of South Africa and therefore the South African law enforced by the South African courts governs the use or inability to use the MER website, its content, services and these terms and conditions.
  • LEGAL COSTS
    MER shall not be liable for legal costs incurred by Users to obtain professional advice relating to these terms and conditions.