Tsogo Sun Dominates South African Gambling Market

February 20 - Recent statistics released by the Casino Association of South Africa (CASA) painted an interesting picture of the local gambling market, especially on how it has changed over the past several years.

The CASA survey showed that while seven operators owned parts of the casino industry only six years ago, as a result of mergers and acquisitions, one giant conglomerate - Tsogo Sun - accounts for over half the 61 million visitors who played at South African casinos in 2010 and 2011.

Tsogo Sun's fifteen casinos attracted over 31 million visitors, compared to 21.7 million who visited casinos owned by the Sun International Group and 7.2 million who played at casinos owned by the Peermont Global Group, emphasising how Tsogo Sun dominates the SA gambling market.

The fourth operator in the South African market is London Clubs International, which runs a single casino, the Emerald Coast Resort in Vanderbijlpark.

Tsogo Sun, which merged with Gold Reef Resorts last year, owns the Sun Coast Casino in Durban, which attracted 8.2 million visitors, as well as the Montecasino in Gauteng which attracted 9.5 million visitors.

Sun International Dominates Western Cape Market

When looking at a regional breakdown of operators' dominance in South Africa, it is seen in the CASA survey that Sun International continues to dominate the Western Cape area, with the GrandWest Casino attracting over 6 million visitors each year.

However, this could all change if plans go ahead to allow the reassignment of a casino license in the Cape area, which, in all likelihood would go to Tsogo Sun, which already runs three Western Cape casinos.

Tsogo Sun has plans to move its existing Club Mykonos license to a new venue in the Cape Waterfront area, which would be aimed at VIP players and high rollers.

Gauteng Gambling Statistics

The CASA report showed that Gauteng is still the hub of the South African gambling market, generating R6 million in gaming revenue during the survey's report period.  This number is three times higher than the revenue generated by casinos in KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape.

Gauteng's gambling revenues are twice those from land casinos in the Free State, Eastern Cape, North West and North Cape, as well as the Limpopo region, combined.

On the flip side, there is serious competition among the four major casinos in Gauteng, which affects their profitability in the long run.

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