Pretoria - Sun International South Africa has at least three mountains to conquer before relocating its Morula Sun Casino and Hotel licence from Mabopane to Menlyn Maine in Pretoria east, as approved by the Gauteng Gambling Board.
Emperors Place owners, Peermont Global and Goldrush Gaming Group (previously Viva Bingo), are going to court to challenge the decision by the gambling board to approve the application.
There is a third court bid by at least 14 community-based organisations in Pretoria east for the review of the rezoning rights for Menlyn Maine to include a casino.
Julie van Wyk, group public relations manager for Peermont Global, confirmed the company had launched a court challenge against the decision of the Gauteng Gambling Board to grant Sun International the right to amend its licence conditions and relocate to Menlyn Maine.
Van Wyk said the matter was sub judice, and as such, Peermont wasn’t able to comment further, nor disclose reasons for their objection.
Mergan Naidoo, a senior executive at Goldrush, also confirmed that they were challenging the decision to approve the Sun International application, in court.
Goldrush has bingo operations in several metros, including Tshwane.
Goldrush director Allan Scott said their objection surrounded the validity of the current Morula licence, and the Gauteng Gambling Act.
The act didn’t provide within its framework any sections whereby a licence may just be replaced.
Sun International will be a keen spectator when community organisations in the vicinity of Menlyn Maine attempt to convince the court to review the rezoning rights for the R8 billion mixed-use development billed to become Africa’s first green city.
The proposed R3bn Sun International operation in Pretoria east, to be known as Time Square at Menlyn Maine, will be part of this development.
The imminent relocation came about after an assessment showed that no new marketing effort or gaming strategy could reverse the decline of Morula Sun and that the facility would never survive nor deliver on its full potential.
Sun International spokesman Michael Farr told Pretoria News the objections were being dealt with in terms of the prescribed processes and would run their course.
Farr said the hotel and casino chain believed full responses to any issues that had been raised were provided at public hearings earlier this year, prior to the approval of the application.
“We are hoping to complete our final planning within six months,” Farr said.
“Construction is scheduled for 30 months, but the commencement may depend on the legal processes that are being conducted by the objectors.”
In the application for review of rezoning rights, the applicants will seek to prove that due process was not followed when the City of Tshwane approved the rezoning for Menlyn Maine.
They say a casino was not mentioned in the original documents. - Pretoria News