SA Casinos Make Huge Contribution to GDP

January 29 - The Casino Association of South Africa (CASA) released figures this week taken from its 2009 survey.

The data showed that since gambling was legalized in the country in 1996, South African casinos have added R143  billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The contribution in the 2008/2009 financial year was over R20 billion.

Other contributions made by South African casinos during the year under review included:

• Over R60 million in corporate social investment activities. (R286 million since 1996).
• Government received around R4.1 million in revenue.

In the past 13 years, over 48,000 industry related jobs have been created, and if indirect jobs were taken into account, the number would balloon to 90,000, according to the survey.

Total capital expenditure on South African casinos since the 1990's totalled R18.8 billion.

"If this amount were to be adjusted to today's value, taking inflation into account, then this spending would be the equivalent of five Green Point soccer stadiums," said the survey.

The chairman of CASA, David Coutts-Trotter, who also serves as the CEO of Sun International, said: "The data collected by the survey strengthens CASA's conviction that over the past 13 years, South Africa's casino industry has become a significant player in the country's provincial economies, the growth of national tourism business and the expansion of safe and trustworthy recreational opportunities."

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