GAMING FOR AFRICA
NorthWest Regulators Clamp Down on Illegal Festive Season Gambling
The South African Police Service in collaboration with the North West Gambling Board have intensified their efforts to combat illegal gambling in the province in the run-up to the festive period. On 29 November 2021, the Police pounced on
two taverns in Hartebeespoortdam in which unlicensed gambling machines were confiscated and the tavern owners were arrested for possession of gambling machines without a license or authorization from the North West Gambling Board. Being in possession of gambling machine or any gambling device is an offence in terms of the North West Gambling Act which on conviction carries imprisonment of up to ten years and or a fine. “Illegal gambling continues to be an area of
concern for the province and the consequences thereof are dreadful, mainly on women and children. With South Africa commemorating 16 days of violence against women and children, the North West Gambling is hard at work with other Law enforcement agencies to curb the spread of such operations.” North West Gambling Board Acting CEO, Mr
Bafana Mabale expressed his satisfaction with work done by the Entity in collaboration with key stakeholders to close down on illegal gambling operators. “We have made progress working with the South
African Police Service and the South African Revenue Service in previous years as most gambling machines were confiscated and
Uganda to Issue National Lotto Licence
destroyed over time resulting in very few machines left in the environment to date. We will ensure that we leave no stone unturned to close illegal operations so we can protect the society from falling prey to these perpetrators. Illegal gambling is diverting the much-needed revenue for the licensed gambling operations and that is a cause of concern which we are addressing “says Mabale.
The African country of Uganda has issued a call for applications to operate a National Lottery licence. The landlocked country, bordering on Kenya and Tanzania, has a population in excess of 45-million, with internet access for close to half the population and a high-percentage of smartphone and mobile use estimated at 22-million. The Ugandan National Lotteries and Gaming
Regulatory Board has issued a call for applications for the lottery licence, and is seeking an operator to run the National Lottery on behalf of the Government of Uganda, in partnership with and under the supervision of the NLGRB. More information on the licence application is available at
www.lgrb.go.ug, and renowned Ugandan Gambling Law Firm, Tropical Law Advocates has offered to talk any prospective licence applicants through the process and opportunity - Prospective operators can contact Stephen Shyaka at:
shyaka.stephen@
tropicaladvocates.com or WhatsApp or Mobile Call:+256788044445 Office line: +256393236123 Website:
www.tropicaladvocates.com
New Competition Commission Report Identifies Gaming Industry as Skewed
Key economic sectors in South Africa – including retail pharmacy, gambling and fishing rights – have remained highly concentrated, a new study by the Competition Commission shows, further flagging the failure by certain licensing processes to spread ownership across the sectors. The report, ’Measuring Concentration And
Participation in The South African Economy: Levels and Trends’, notes that out of 144 sectors examined, about 69.5 percent were “highly concentrated” with 40.3 percent of these classified as “highly concentrated with a presumptively dominant” firm. Only about 9.7 percent of the surveyed sectors “were found to have unconcentrated” markets. Licensed industries such as gambling, retail
pharmacy and others were highly characterised by merger and acquisition activity which has
only served to increase concentration in the sectors. The report notes that gambling industry has
effectively seen three companies (HCI/Tsogo Sun, Sun International and Goldrush ) “control vast parts of the industry due in large part to licensing and past merger” activity. “Tsogo Sun and Sun International control
over 80 percent of casino gambling and have through mergers and new licenses control of 77.5 percent of Limited Payout Machines (LPMs). Gold Rush’s purchase of Crazy Slots in 2016 helped to strengthen its position in the LPM segment,” said the report. As per Administrative Tax Data from the
South African Revenue Services (Sars), 95 percent of firms in 2016 were small, medium enterprises (SMEs), but they only accounted for 24 percent of turnover. This is compared to
large corporates that made up just five percent of firms on Sars books in 2016 yet comprised 76 percent of total turnover. This has been interpreted under the
Competition Commission’s report to be reflective of “how concentrated and inequitable” the South African economy is. The report thus shows that South African SMEs have “greater entry and exit rates” than larger firms. “The skewed economic structure in South
Africa is evident from the fact that amongst tax-paying firms, SMEs contribute only 24 percent of total firm turnover relative to the 50-60 percent cited by a recent OECD study.” Moreover, the skewed economic structure of
South Africa’s economy will “constrain employment generation and contribute to household inequality” at a time the jobs market is shrinking.
JANUARY 2022 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
