Casinos in Africa
Casinos in Africa mostly follow the type of all-inclusive hotel and casino resort made popular on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada.
This makes sense, as most African economies rely heavily on tourism to generate foreign income. Regulated gambling industries in African countries are helping in this regard and on top of this, hotel and casino resorts are not only gambling destinations; they offer attractions for almost all ages and tastes.
Hotel and casino resorts are an excellent way of attracting foreign money – not only by enticing international high rollers, but also by creating jobs, improving infrastructure and developing the tourism industry, not to mention raising the profiles of African countries as international travel destinations.
Casinos in Africa combine a wide array of majestic settings with the benefits of a cheap holiday, particularly for tourists from America, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia, who can take advantage of favourable exchange rates.
There are a roughly 200 casinos on the entire African continent, spread across 31 of Africa’s 61 nations.
South Africa has the most casinos of any country in Africa with 45 facilities and is far and away the leading African gambling holiday destination, although Egypt has 25 casinos, including a host of popular and luxurious hotel and casino resorts.
Other prominent gambling destinations in Africa include islands off both the east and west coasts, as well as countries like Morocco, Botswana, Kenya and Swaziland.
The Cape Verde Islands are easily accessible from Europe, 200 km off the coast of North Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. Nikki Beach Resort and Casino on the island of Sao Vicente is an exotic Five-star location overlooking a dazzling bay in the capital of Fortim Mindelo and offers the a nearby island getaway for Europe’s high rollers and luxury tourists.
Although currently suffering a marked drop in tourism due to bad governance and political violence, Zimbabwe still boasts two world-class casinos.
Lake Kariba is home to the Caribbea Bay Hotel and Casino Resort, while the exquisite Elephant Hills Hotel and Casino Resort nestles just down the road from the world’s largest single waterfall, Victoria Falls.
At the South African National Gambling Board conference in January, Anthony Puttergill, CEO of Peermont Hotels, Casinos and Resorts, said that he believed hotel and casino resorts and the gaming industry in general have a vital role to play in helping to develop African economies.
But with unrest and civil war common across the continent, African countries must ensure stability and proper gaming regulations to benefit from their hotel-casino and gaming industries.
Casinos in Africa may have a long way to go, but the signs for the future appear to be good so far.
