GAMING FOR AFRICA


African Island of Cape Verde’s Only Casino Sees 122% Jump in Revenue


Zimbabwe to Review Lotteries and Gaming Act


Zimbabwe is set to review its loyttereis and Gaming Act by year-end. Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe says the outdated legislation governing the lotteries and gaming industry will be reviewed to keep the country’s gaming legislation current in the wake of technological advancements. Kazemebe spokes at the recent opening of the


Gross gaming revenue generated by the only Cape Verdean casino increased by more than 122% in 2021, compared to the previous year, strongly impacted by the covid-19 pandemic, exceeding one million euros, according to data from the African country’s Ministry of Tourism. The gaming inspection authority (IGJ) in 2020


recorded gross revenue from gambling at the only casino operating in the country, on the island of Sal – equivalent to 477,758 euros (4.3 million patacas). This was a 67% drop compared to the record of


1,468,198 euros in 2019, explained by the eight-month stoppage of activity in 2020, due to national and international restrictions to contain the covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, with the resumption of tourism, the IGJ


saw gross revenue increase by 122.6%, compared to the previous year, to 1,063.39 euros, corresponding in turn to a game volume of more than 6.2 million euros. Of the gross revenue, 10% corresponds to the


payment of the special tax on gambling by the concessionaires. Cabo Verde has granted two concessions until


2021, for the Sal gambling zone and another for the Santiago gaming zone, within the scope of the gaming law, which defines five permanent gaming zones, in Santiago, São Vicente, Sal, Boavista and Maio. However, the only casino in operation in Cape


Verde is located in Santa Maria, on the island of Sal, the archipelago’s top tourism island. Tourism minister Carlos Santos, told Lusa in


2020 that the Government defined in the strategy until 2030 the need for “sustainable development of tourism” in Cape Verde, maintaining “anchor products”, such as sun and beach, reinforcing the commitment in cruises and nature tourism, but also in gaming. “Gaming is a sector in which we want to


continue to invest, respecting all international rules and good practices, because it attracts a type of customer that has a very reasonable purchasing power,” said the minister. The most emblematic project in this area is the


hotel-casino that the Macau Legend group is building in Praia, in a project worth 250 million euros, but with successive delays in completion and little visible


progress in the work in recent years. Carlos Santos guaranteed at the time that large


investments such as the Macau businessman David Chow is executing between the islet of Santa Maria and the marginal da Praia, were not jeopardized by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I do not think so. And we haven’t even had any


signs of that. In fact, I say that the overwhelming majority of investors who are making investments in Cape Verde, before the pandemic, immediately with the carrying out of the repatriation flights asked the Cape Verdean Government for authorization to send their technicians to Cape Verde to continue with the projects,” he said. In 2015, David Chow signed an agreement with


the Cape Verdean Government for the construction of the hotel-casino, with the ground-breaking ceremony taking place in February 2016. It is one of the largest tourist developments in Cape Verde, with an estimated global investment of 250 million euros – around 15% of Cape Verde’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – for the construction of a tourist resort on the islet of Santa Maria, which will cover an area of 152,700 square meters. The work involves the construction of a 250-room


‘casino boutique’ hotel, a large swimming pool and several facilities for restaurants, bars and commercial establishments, as well as a marina. However, a draft addendum to the agreement


between the company and the Cape Verdean Government, dated April 2019, states that, “considering that, given the evolution of the national environment of the project in the last two years, the gaming company suggested, and the Government understood to accept, a proposal to carry out the investment project in phases”. Thus, in this first phase of the project, which should then be concluded within 22 months, 90 million euros will be invested. David Chow received a 25-year license from the


Government of Cape Verde, 15 of which on an exclusive basis on the island of Santiago. This gaming concession cost CV Entertainment Co., a subsidiary of Macau Legend, the equivalent of around 1.2 million euros. The gaming company also received a special license to exclusively explore online gambling throughout the country and the sports betting market for ten years. (courtesy: soloazar)


Lotteries and Gaming Board (LGB) strategic planning workshop in Mutare.LGB is responsible for controlling and monitoring the gaming industry operations in Zimbabwe. Kazembe ordered a review of the Lotteries and


Gaming Act, which was passed into law in 2000.. “One of the major assignments, which I am


entrusting the LGB to deliver before the end of this year, is to review the outdated Lotteries and Gaming Act among other Acts mentioned by operators. The Act needs to be looked at as a matter of urgency,” Kazembe said. He added: “This is long overdue and I am happy


that our legal department and secretariat are represented here. Our objective is to make sure that this is attended to by at least this quarter of the year so that we are consistent with current circumstances. I urge the LGB to continue with innovations which will lead to the growth trajectory of lotteries and gaming industry.”


He added Zimbabwe would regularise online betting when measures to deal with rampant money laundering within the lotteries and gaming industry have been put in place. “I am aware of unsanctioned online betting


prevailing in our sector and I call upon the LGB to look into this issue. I am told many people clean their money through online money laundering,” the Home Affairs Minister added. “Going forward the board must consider strategies


to embrace new inventions and use of technology in betting as it widens our revenues and stakeholders in a manner that does not jeopardise our standing as a country in as far as money laundering is concerned “We are currently in the grey zone as far as Financial


Anti-Money Laundering Task Force is concerned and we are working very hard as a country to ensure we comply with expectations, so as to move out of the grey zone.” LGB chairperson Eugenia Chidhakwa said the


current Lotteries and Gaming Act was vague on issues to do with partnership and foreign investment. “We need to look at partnership and foreign


investments. One of the pertinent issues that are in the act is the renewal of licenses. A yearly renewal is not proper in, these times,” Chidhakwa said. Lately, in Zimbabwe, there has been a growing


appetite for gaming and gambling as punters strive to beat economic challenges.


FEBRUARY 2022 21


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