Johannesburg - Casinos in Gauteng have contributed a whopping 42 percent towards the gross gambling revenue, compared to that of the eight other provinces in the country.
This was revealed yesterday by Themba Ngobese, chief executive of the Casino Association of South Africa (Casa), the organisation responsible for representing the interests of the country’s legal casino gambling industry as well as the public that the industry serves.
He announced the findings of Casa’s survey, titled “Survey of Casino Entertainment in South Africa”, during a media briefing at Montecasino in Fourways yesterday.
The report measured the economic and social impact of casinos on the local environment by analysing publicly available data and in-depth information provided by Casa members.
The members included Sun International, which owns the Sun City resort in North West; Tsogo Sun, which owns Montecasino; Peermont Hotels, Casinos and Resorts, which operates Emperors Palace in Kempton Park; as well as London Clubs International, which runs the Emerald Resort and Casino in Vanderbijlpark.
There are 38 casinos nationwide which belong to the organisations, all of which are members of Casa, with seven of them being run in Gauteng.
Casa members contributed R17.2 billion to the country’s gross domestic product in the 2014/2015 financial year, an increase of 4.5 percent from the previous year.
Over R3bn was generated on the tables in the casinos, while about R13bn was generated on the slot machines. Both categories showed an increase for the financial year.
The study also found that the Casa members paid R3.7bn in gambling taxes and levies, with 40 percent of it coming from casinos in Gauteng.
The Casa members across the country employ about 64 000 people directly.
“We provide the training to the employees who work in the casinos,” said Ngobese.
THE STAR