Reports AFRICA - MOZAMBIQUE
Revisionist view of gaming history
The ministry for tourism has taken charge of the gaming industry in Mozambique and is tasked with bringing more visitors to the country, especially those seeking luxury
Since independence Mozambique has been battered by civil war, economic problems and famine. A peace deal in 1992 ended 16 years of war and since then the country has managed to drag itself back into political stability. When independence arrived, Mozambique was one of the world’s poorest countries. In 1987 the government embarked on a series of macroeconomic reforms to stabilise the economy and this, together with political stability, has had dramatic improvements on the country’s growth rate. With peace and stability the economy in
Mozambique has improved over the last 25 years and is growing at around seven percent each year and as such is one of Africa’s strongest performers. Foreign investment is high particularly in
mining ventures as the country has a wealth of natural resources from iron ore, gold, marble, limestone, coal and several rare minerals. Te most important earner is aluminium which has become the most valuable export. Despite the growing economy however
Mozambique remains one of the world’s poorest countries partly due to trade imbalance as it spends more on imports than it receives on exports. After high inflation in 2010 this led to a focus on domestic food production. Meanwhile tourism is one potential growth
sector, as with its long sandy beaches and marine life, the country is becoming a popular tourist destination. However figures have been dropping recently instead of increasing, mainly due to the lesser numbers of South Africans visiting. Direct contribution of travel and tourism in
2014 to the GDP was MZN14.3bn (2.9 percent of GDP) forecast to rise by 6.4 percent per year up to 2025. Total contribution was MZN34.8bn
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(seven percent) whilst the sector directly employs 262,000 jobs Te country has more than 5,000 hotels and
tourism establishments and sees around 1.6 million visitors per year. Tere is a project for luxury tourism for high
spending customers such as luxury lodges and luxury resorts in certain areas and the challenge for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is to bring more visitors to Mozambique In January last year the President relieved
Prime Minister Alberto Vaquina, six ministers and three provincial governors of the Maputo province from their duties so they could take up their seats in the country’s parliament as government ministers cannot simultaneously be on parliamentary deputy. New President Filipe Nyusi is the fourth President of Mozambique and is from ruling party Frelimo and he was able to form his own government. Whether this will have any affect on the
country’s gambling market remains to be seen. Mozambique was once the region where South Africans would travel to and escape from the restrictive gambling regulations they had on their home turf. Te Mozambique gambling industry was previously governed by Ministry of Finance and a 1994 gaming law. Tis law was strict and stated that casinos
much be at least 50km from nearest city and part of a minimum 250 room hotel and a minimum investment of $15m. In 2009 the National Assembly of the
Mozambique Parliament passed an amendment which saw several changes to the casino business generally. Te fundamental objective of the new law
was to make the gaming industry attractive to investors by improving the promotion of projects within the tourism sector thus creating
jobs, revenue and economic growth. Until this time the capital city operated on a
monopoly system which was handed over to Casino Polana whereas the new law opened the doors to development.
Te 2009 bill basically: l Lifted the previous restrictions for casinos with off limit areas
l It softened the previous restrictions that made casinos having to be built as part of luxury hotels with at least 250 rooms. Te new provision stated they merely had to be built in ‘association’ with a hotel with at least four stars (or five stars for those in Maputo).
l Te minimum investment for start up capital was cut down to $8m from US$15m.
l It also legalised online gambling and l Permitted slot machines in other locations bar casinos such as in shopping centres.
Under the revised law the Ministry of Tourism
now has the authority over the casino concessionaries although the Ministry of Finance will still retain the power to inspect casinos and collect taxes.
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