Gambling market - LiquorWise has noted that South Africa is the world's third-largest casino market and it was also the fastest-growing casino market in 2010 with a 3.5% increase, according to a new PwC report. the National Gambling Act permits 40 licensed casinos. Currently, there are 37 operating casinos, which leaves little room for expansion. It is expected that casino upgrades and a new casino licence will enhance the South African casino market. There will be relatively little growth from new casinos to 2015. A new 15% tax on winnings of R25000 or higher, provisionally scheduled to go into effect in 2012, is expected to have an adverse impact on the market. However, there is currently no detail available on how the proposed tax is to be calculated or collected, it said. It was reported that France had the largest casino market in 2010 at $3.8-billion, followed by Germany's $2-billion and South Africa's $1.8-billion. However, France has declined during the past year, and a further drop is expected this year. The Limpopo Gambling Board awarded a casino licence to Peermont Global. Peermont also upgraded the Umfolozi Hotel and Convention Resort. Sun International plans to upgrade the Boardwalk Casino in Port Elizabeth. Tsogo Sun Gaming plans to upgrade the Hemingways Casino in East London, having been awarded a new 15-year licence by the Eastern Cape Gambling Board in exchange for a R20m payment for exclusive rights to a large area surrounding East London. GamblingWise advises and assists owners of liquor licensed businesses to obtain gambling licences for limited payout machines. Contact GambleWise for more information! (Article by I-Net Bridge, edited by LiquorWise)

LiquorWise's gambling division - GambleWise - noted that South Africa had the fastest growing casino market in 2010 with a 3.5% increase. This is according to a report by PWC. "Going forward, casino upgrades and a new casino license will enhance the South African casino market, but compared with the prior decade - when a number of new casinos opened - there will be relatively little growth from new casinos during the forecast period." A new 15% tax on winnings of R25,000 or higher, provisionally scheduled to go into effect in 2012, was expected to have an adverse impact on the market. However, there was currently no detail available on how the proposed tax was to be calculated or collected, the survey found. (Edited by Liquorwise)

Tsogo Sun Holdings, which owns and/or operates around 100 casino resorts and hotels in Africa, the Middle East and Seychelles, has warned that proposed regulatory changes by the South African Government may discourage it from further investment in the industry. It stated in its six month-report till the end of September : Despite a difficult trading environment for gaming and hotels, the group remains highly cash-generative and has significant opportunities to invest capital in its growth strategy at attractive rates of return. The ability to continue to pursue such investments will depend on the final outcome of, and impact from, the variety of proposed regulatory changes by Government.”It warned: “Regulatory risks represent a threat to the group with possible changes to tax regulations and an increased cost burden of compliance with various imposed regulations being the most significant. The integration of the Gold Reef properties into the Tsogo group was largely complete. It also recorded the purchase of The Grace (shown above) in Rosebank for R85-million and said it had also reached agreement for the acquisition of an additional 16.5% effective interest in the Suncoast Casino in KZN for R510 million, bringing the total ownership of that operation to 90%. This acquisition remains subject to approval by the KwaZulu-Natal Gambling Board. TheTsogo Sun Emonti, a subsidiary company of the group, started trading under its new gaming licence on 26 September and construction has begun on the R400 million redevelopment of the Hemingways casino, East London. The first half of the financial year saw accelerated growth in revenue across many of the group’s casinos. Hotels, which benefited from the World Cup in June and July 2010, had shown revenue decline on the prior period, as would be expected, although the effect was exaggerated in the six-month reporting period and would have less impact on the full year. The underlying operations of the group remain highly geared towards the South African consumer (in gaming) and the corporate market (in hotels) with both sectors experiencing difficult trading conditions and increased administered costs. “The group is poised for growth if these sectors of the South African economy improve. “Regulatory risks represent a threat to the group with possible changes to tax regulations and an increased cost burden of compliance with various imposed regulations being the most significant. “The group continues to engage with the various regulatory bodies and other Government departments to ensure that proposed changes are warranted and capable of being implemented without having a negative impact on both current and new investment in the industry and consequently on employment levels.” Tsogo Sun reported that the hotel industry in South Africa was still experiencing the dual impact of depressed demand and over supply, with overall industry occupancies of around 52% for the six months to September. “The group`s hotels are likewise affected. However, as a result of the strong sales and distribution channels available within the group, a significant occupancy and rate premium is being achieved in the segments in which the group operates. “With little recovery in the core corporate market, the group`s system-wide occupancies remain under pressure in South Africa at 58.9% (2010: 59.3%).” Average room rates in the total South African operations declined by 16% to R760, with virtually all the decline attributable to the higher achieved rates during the World Cup in the prior period. Operating costs were well controlled with a 3% increase on the prior period, despite regulated utility costs and property rates increases.The offshore division of hotels achieved total revenue of R153-million for the six months, representing a 21% improvement on the prior year, assisted by the inclusion of Southern Sun Nairobi as a leased hotel (previously managed) with effect from 1 August 2010. Looking ahead, Tsogo Sun said: “Despite a difficult trading environment for gaming and hotels, the group remains highly cash-generative and has significant opportunities to invest capital in its growth strategy at attractive rates of return. The ability to continue to pursue such investments will depend on the final outcome of, and impact from, the variety (Article by Hotel & Restaurant, edited by LiquorWise)

David Coutts-Trotter, Sun International CEO, has resigned from Sun International with immediate effect. Undisclosed personal reasons lay behind the decision. The group, which is blessed with a depth of management expertise, has appointed its gaming operations director, Garth Collins, as CE until a new CE can be appointed. Collins is a Sun International veteran, having been with the group for over 40 years. Coutts-Trotter served as deputy under Peter Bacon for three years from 2003 - 2006. However, he has been with the group for far longer, joining Kersaf Investments, once Sun International’s holding company, in 1994. He has enjoyed a successful tenure as CE. He has overseen the expansion of Sun International into both West Africa and South America. He has also overseen licence reapplications for various group properties, as well as major refurbishments, (notably the Boardwalk in Port Elizabeth) currently undergoing a R1bn expansion and the Wild Coast Sun, nearing the completion of a R400m upgrade Coutts-Trotter was a popular leader, particularly with middle management and the rank-and-file who liked his informal management style. That does not imply that he was a soft touch. He was “robust, frank and successful” and could at times be eye-wateringly honest. He dislikes the limelight. The company also released an update for the quarter to the end of September. Casino revenue was up 7% compared to the same period last year. This was driven mainly by rapid growth at Monticello, while GrandWest, Carnival City and Sibaya achieved revenue growth of 5%, 4% and 8% respectively. Rooms revenue was in line with last year at R223m but occupancy, at 62% was 3% lower. The Cape Town market in particular is having a torrid time with occupancies at the Table Bay declining from 40% last year to 30% this year. If there is a silver lining in this it is the fact that if one removed the FIFA World Cup effect last year, rooms revenues would have grown 7% in the quarter. The group achieved an EBITDA margin of 25.0% which was 2.4% lower than last year. This is unsurprising in the current environment, and reflects slow revenue growth and the fact that expenses are growing faster than revenue. “This performance is entirely market related,” says Stanlib’s Shawn Stockigt. He prefers to dwell on the positives however. While local growth is slow, the group’s Chilean operation, devastated by the earthquakes last year, is starting to make a contribution to profits. And other initiatives – such as the plan to build a hotel and casino in Nigeria – and bode well for future growth. “We don’t like it when management changes as suddenly as this, but this is a good company, with good prospects and management change happens,” he says. (Moneyweb article, edited by LiquorWise)

South Africa deliberated long and hard about regulating and legalizing online gambling and decided against the idea. The country even sent a group of officials to Antigua and Barbuda to observe the system the tiny island nation has in place. Now Rob Davies who is the South African Minister of Trade and Industry has issued a statement that warns the consumer of online gambling products that playing games on the internet for real money is illegal and should be avoided. The Minister also said that there is the possibility that banks may ask questions about winning from online gambling sources. A recent review by the Gambling Review Commission said the past time should be allowed and the operators should be given licenses but as the law stands to date internet wagering is still illegal in South Africa. Davies continued, "If you're a South African and you participate in online gambling and you win, your winnings are the proceeds of an illegal activity," A ruling by the Northern Gauteng High Court that made it illegal for online gambling sites to offer their services in South Africa. He pointed out that, "Unless or until we take a decision that we run a license and in what form and what way - I think it will be a subject of a massive debate if we do indeed decide to go this route. I think everyone needs to know that they must not engage in this activity." The minister in his address said he was trying to protect the South African consumer. "Among ordinary people, gambling is promoted as a life-changing possibility, including the Lotto ... when in fact anyone that goes in with that presumption is going to be sadly disappointed.” adding, "If you want to play these games, you must be prepared to take the entertainment value. If that's entertainment, and you must be prepared to lose, because the only consistent winnings are [for] the people who run the operations," (Article by Online-Casinos.com – Edited by Liquorwise)

Fewer South Africans are gambling now compared to 2001, Professor Peter Collins, executive director of the National Responsible Gambling Programme, said on Friday.

The percentage of citizens who never gamble has risen from 30 in 2001 to over 50 this year, he told parliament's portfolio committee on trade and industry, according to a statement from the programme.

"The number of problem gamblers in the country has also declined from 3% in 2008 to 1% in 2011." The committee is holding public hearings into gambling as part of a review of South African gambling legislation. "This figure is similar to that found in European and other English speaking jurisdictions and considerably higher than the number in Asia," Collins said.

"However, in South Africa, poor people are disproportionately likely to gamble too much on cheaper forms of gambling such as the lottery and illegal games such as iFafi, dice and cards, which is commonly played in and around township shebeens."

Collins said South Africa's gambling laws and regulations were as good as those found anywhere in the world. The committee held public hearings in response to a gambling review report written by a commission established by Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies in December 2009. The report was tabled in parliament in June

(Edited by Liquorwise)

While a decision is awaited on the recommendations of the Gambling Review Commission, the Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies has warned that online gambling remains illegal in South Africa. Speaking while attending the International Association of Gaming Regulators' annual conference in Cape Town, Davies said South Africans should not "jump the gun” on internet gambling simply because the Gambling Review Commission had proposed that the country should allow the licensing of online gambling operators. Davies pointed out that it was also illegal for online gambling sites to offer their services in South Africa, even though their servers were hosted outside of the country, and added that banks, under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, could question those South Africans that netted winnings from internet gambling sites. The Gambling Review Commission had recommended earlier this year that bringing these activities into the regulatory net and providing punters with a choice of licensed operators under a single regulator would be likely to provide an outlet for existing demand, provide some punter protection, and would discourage consumers from seeking out unlicensed sites. Davies confirmed that regulations have already been developed by his department on online gambling, but that they have been held back, until public hearings on the Gambling Review Commission's report have been completed. Bringing online gambling into the regulatory net would also allow the government to tax the sector. Under current proposals, tax revenues would be generated from licence fees and the taxation of the operators’ profits, as well as a 15% withholding tax on all winnings above ZAR25,000 (USD3,160), which was announced in the 2012 budget and which would take effect from April 1, 2012. The details of that tax are still awaited. (Article by Lorys Charalambous – Edited by Liquorwise)