Casinos in South Africa

SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA - MARCH 10, 2007: The Palace of the Lost City Hotel at Sun City, the entertainment centre popular with gamblers and tourists built by the hotel magnate Sol Kerzner, in South Africa. (Photo by Tom Stoddart/Getty Images) While there are now over 40 casinos in South Africa, the hotel and casino resort industry is still relatively young.

The internationally renowned Sun City hotel and casino resort complex is hard to beat in terms of a gambling holiday experience, but don’t be fooled into thinking it is your only option – South Africa is alive with choices!

South African Casinos

Johannesburg in Gauteng is the economic hub of Africa and boasts the Emperor’s Palace hotel and casino. Built at a cost of R1.3 billion (about £90 million) close to OR Tambo International Airport, Emperor’s Palace’s casino houses 1 500 slot machines and 50 game tables, while the Five-star hotel has 196 rooms.

The R2-billion Montecasino complex in northern Johannesburg is another major attraction featuring the casino, hotel, bars and eateries and one of the city’s premier theatres, and the Gold Reef City theme park complex includes a casino with 1 600 slot machines and 50 game tables.

Another top South African casino is Sun Coast Casino and Entertainment World in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Located on South Africa’s sunny east coast, Sun Coast Casino boasts 1 250 slots and almost 50 game tables.

South Africa’s Casino Industry History

South Africa’s thriving casino industry benefits from sound regulation and the creation of hotel and casino resorts in tourist hotspots.

Gambling in South Africa was legalised in 1996 with the passing of the National Gambling Act. Since then, casino resort operators have invested over R15 billion (about one billion pounds Sterling), creating roughly 100 000 jobs.

Casino developments have also greatly aided investment and added new infrastructure, while roughly a third of all money generated goes to the government.

The South African casino industry is also very progressive, contributing over R100 million (over £7 million) every year in commercial social investment, while the National Responsible Gambling Programme (NRGP) is acknowledged to be among the best in the world. In fact, it has been used as a model by a number of countries around the world, including the United Kingdom.

At the time of its creation, South Africa’s NRGP was the only one in the whole world to rely solely on private sector bodies for its funding, as well as the only one overseen by a team from both government and the casino industry. This bodes well for the future of casinos and South Africa’s position as a leading international gambling holiday destination.