GAMING FOR AFRICA
R500m Shopping Mall Opens to Complement Boardwalk Casino
Boardwalk Mall, a new 24,000sqm development in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape opened to shoppers yesterday, rpviding a perfect complementary retail offering adjacent to Boardwalk Casino. The R500 million development by Flanagan &
Gerard Group and Emfuleni Resorts, a subsidiary of Sun International, is an extension and upgrade of the Boardwalk Precinct around the Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World in Summerstrand, Nelson Mandela Bay Metro. The mall features 92 stores, 30 of which opened
in the first phase in March 2022. The mall is anchored by the first Checkers, Woolworths Food and Dis-Chem stores in its area. The offering is complemented by a Pick n Pay and Clicks, and the latest VIP cinema upgrade from NuMetro. It also includes a 2,500sqm open arena, the
multi-functional Sunpark events arena, with a big screen, fountain, restaurants spilling out onto the square, a variety of coffee shops and casual dining experiences, and a landscaped children’s play area. The vision for Boardwalk Mall is built on offering
world-class convenience and entertainment to the Summerstrand region, said Paul Gerard, MD of Flanagan & Gerard. Construction of the 24,000sqm single-level
Boardwalk Mall was ready to commence in February 2020 but was delayed by the pandemic lockdown.
Demolition and bulk earthworks were finally able to get underway from February to April 2021, and construction began in May 2021. The first phase of Boardwalk Mall opened on 24
March 2022, and the grand opening of this retail, lifestyle and entertainment powerhouse took place on Thursday, 22 September. The mall has created more than 1,300 jobs
during its construction phase. In addition, some 80% of work on site was completed by local subcontractors using local labour, its owners said. It has more than 1,000 public parking bays,
dedicated tenant parking and a taxi drop-off and pick-up zone.
South African Opposition Party Tables Online Gambling Bill
South Africa’s opposition party has published the Draft Remote Gambling Bill for public comment, aiming to legalise and regulate online gambling in the
country. The
private members’ bill has been put forward by the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), which wants to establish a legal basis for the regulation, control and licensing of all remote gambling activities in South Africa. Regulations for interactive gambling were
initially supposed to be provided by the National Gambling Amendment Act of 2008; however, the DA said that the amendment act has not yet been brought into operation and interactive/online gambling is currently not regulated in South Africa. “By not regulating this gambling activity, the
erosion of the rule of law and criminal activity is being encouraged, while the public is not effectively protected,” the party said. “Concurrently, a lack of regulation is resulting in
revenue and jobs being lost to other gambling jurisdictions.” The purpose of the Remote Gambling Bill is thus
to fill the gap in the law relating to interactive gambling. The Bill addresses the issues faced by the Amendment Act, which is one of the reasons why it was never brought into effect. The Remote Gambling Bill also aims to provide
for, inter alia, the following: • Regulating the issuing of licenses to be controlled by the relevant provincial authorities;
• Provide for procedures relating to objections to issuing of licenses;
• Regulating advertising of interactive/ online gambling entities;
• Provide for the protection of minors and vulnerable persons; and
• Ensure that there is compliance with FICA. Metropolitan Sells South Africa Interest to Tsogo Sun
Metropolitan Gaming has announced the sale of its interest in Emerald Resort and Casino in South Africa to a consortium controlled by Tsogo Sun. The sale will allow Metropolitan Gaming to focus
on its core markets of the UK and Egypt, where it is committed to building the Metropolitan brand through acquisition and investment. Work is already under way on the refurbishment and rebranding of
its Mayfair property, which will reopen later this year. Michael Silberling, CEO of Metropolitan Gaming,
said: “Following the addition of the iconic Park Lane Club to our portfolio of casinos in the UK earlier this year, the sale of our interest in Emerald Resort and Casino reflects our focused strategy to invest in and develop the business within our primary markets. “We want to thank all our employees at Emerald
Resort and Casino past and present for their hard work, professionalism and loyalty, particularly during the global Covid-19 pandemic. We very much look forward to following their progress and successes over the years to come.”
OCTOBER 2022 25
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